The Marauder's Year
by sakuramae
Summary: An L&J S&new character and R&new character fic mixed into the trouble of their last year in Hogwarts. Quidditch, love, and magic may or may not be a good mix.
1. Author's Note

A note from the author: 

This story was once called "She's All That". However, I've decided to name it something more appropriate for a sequel. 

I apologize to the readers, or, at least, to those of you who have already read this story. After a year of contemplation, I've decided that the story needed to be revamped and remade. The plot is entirely different, and though most of the chapters have remained the same, I've made chapters that were never there, and were never read. I did this because some reviewers have stated of the lack of originality in the work, so, I tried to find a way that made it more original, yet not too un-canon (though, as another side note, I did not read the fifth book of Harry Potter when I finished this story). 

Again, as the reader, you have the choice to skip this story and move on to another, possibly better story. Those of you who are curious, continue on. I apologize for your inconvenience. ^-^ 


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 

Lily stepped into the Hogwarts Express to attend her seventh year at the school of witchcraft and wizardry. She waved at three familiar figures in the distance. "James, Sirius, Remus! Over here!"

The three waved back and beckoned Lily to enter the compartment. Peter and two other girls were waiting inside. The first girl with long black hair and blue eyes stood up to greet Lily. "Oh, there you are. I wondered whether or not you would show up." 

"Of course she'd show up, Melanie," the other girl said, smiling, "I mean, she won't step down as Head Girl you know."

Peter gasped, "You're Head Girl?"

"And why not?" Remus asked, "She's by far the most intelligent being in Hogwarts, let alone this whole world."

Lily laughed. "Really, Remus, must you exaggerate so much?"

Sirius and James looked at each other and grinned. They went down on their knees and started to grovel at Lily's feet. "Oh, your most respected Head Girl. Please allow us to kiss your robes as a sign of friendship and peace."

Everyone broke out in laughter except Lily, who frowned. "James Potter and Sirius Black! When will you guys ever grow up?"

"Why, when one of us has been named Head Boy," Sirius retorted, still smiling, "Eh, James?"

James Potter laughed nervously, "Um…er…"

Remus cocked his head. "What is it, James?"

Lily laughed, "Oh, I know! He was named Head Boy!"

"WHAT?!" Everyone cried out, except for the Head Boy and Girl. James was turning red.

Sirius slapped his best friend in the back. "Way to go, Prongs! Head Seeker and now Head Boy! How good is that?!"

Melanie grinned. "Hey, Sirius, does that mean you have to grow up now?"

"Well, see here," James protested, "He didn't know what he was talking about."

The girl with short blonde hair took out her wand and pointed it at James. "Now, now, James Potter, you may be Head Boy, but I could still beat you with a wand. Let me see, oh yes, aren't you supposed to denounce all your trickery and pranks for this year?"

"Aw, Sarah," Peter spoke up, "You make us do that every year, and they never listen to you. Why should this year be any different?"

Sarah shook her head. "Well, for one thing, it's our last year, and we want to make a good impression…"

Melanie and Lily looked at each other then at Sarah. Lily spoke up, "But, Sarah, you would be the last person to say such things."

"Yes, if I recall it correctly," Remus said thoughtfully, "You were the one who played tricks on the teachers and got as many detentions as Black and Potter."

Glaring at Remus, Sarah continued, "And another thing, there will be something special going on, so most of us won't have the time to play pranks on anyone."

Everyone looked at Sarah. Sirius scowled, "How do you know all this?"

"It helps when her father works for the Ministry of Magic," Melanie muttered under her breath.

James opened their compartment and poked his head out. After a few seconds, he closed the door and faced everyone, brown eyes sparkling with mischief. The Marauders knew what he was thinking about when his handsome face shone like that.

Sirius also grinned mischievously. "So, what'll it be this time? Warts? Purple skin? Extra appendages?"

"Hey, you two," Lily spoke up, "Is it Snape again? Come on, stop picking on him. Remember last year?"

Remus paled and agreed with Lily. "Yeah, maybe you shouldn't pull a prank on him just now."

Sarah snorted, "Why shouldn't we? He bloody well deserves it."

"And you're the one who wanted to make a good impression," Melanie scolded.

Lily sighed. Yes, she was glad to be back in the company of her friends. Her summer was as horrible as ever, with Petunia spoiling each and every day of the witch's summer vacation. Once again she sighed. Sirius and James were talking about the next girl they were going to date this week.

"Hey, maybe they might have a new transfer student for us to date," Sirius said, hopefully.

James laughed. "Why? Are you already tired of the whole female population in Hogwarts?"

Sirius shook his head, seeing that Melanie was watching him intently. "No, it's not that, James. Eh…that's because we need to find you a soul mate…yeah, that's it."

"Poor Melanie," Sarah whispered to Lily, "If you ask me, I don't know how she's got Sirius tied down, do you?"

The Head Girl smiled. When Melanie told them that she was dating Sirius, everyone in Hogwarts wondered how the silent, thoughtful, rich girl could catch the attention of an outgoing, independent, and dashing Sirius Black. Sure, Melanie was gorgeous, but she wasn't something that Sirius would go ga-ga over. On the other hand, Sarah was more like Sirius' type, since she was as beautiful as her cousin and twice as bad. Surprisingly, though, Sarah and Remus became an item, even though she found out that he was a werewolf. That probably won her over, for she loved wolves to begin with.

Since James, Lily, and Peter were the only singles without a partner, Melanie and Sarah used to joke with Lily that she should pair up with the handsome James Potter. Lily laughed at the thought. "That's ridiculous. He's my friend, but I wouldn't be able to stand a guy like him as a boyfriend," she said, on one of those times.

Lily was jolted out of her reverie when she felt the signs of the train slowing down. The Hogwarts Express finally stopped, hinting that they were already at their school. The Marauders leaped out of their compartment and sprinted towards the entrance, trying to see who could get there first.


	3. Chapter 2

"Wow," was all Sirius, Remus, and James could say when they saw the new girl. Sirius whistled. "She's hot."

Melanie jabbed her boyfriend in the stomach and frowned. "She's only part veela, Black. You don't go ga-ga over some girl like her."

"I would admit," Remus stated, "She's really beautiful, Melanie, but she isn't part veela. Yes, she might have the long silky blonde hair and those mysterious and charming blue eyes…"

"…And the womanly curves…" Sirius put in before he was jabbed again. "Okay, Melanie, no need for another hit."

Sarah glared at the boys. "Come on, Lily, Melanie. Let's leave them to stare at her. Boys can be such jerks sometimes."

Soon, the Marauders found out that the new student's name was Rebecca Ruppert. She was an exchange student from Beauxbaton, one of Hogwarts' rival schools. It didn't take too long for the guys to see that she was an egotistical girl who thought that she was the queen of the school. Many younger Hogwarts males threw themselves at her feet, but she would only look on in disgust and eye one of the male students in James' table.

Sirius whispered, "Hey, Prongs, I think she's checking you out. Maybe you should try dating her."

"Thanks for the advice, Padfoot," James said, "But I don't think I'd like her even if I do date her."

"Heck, just do it for fun!"

Remus shook his head. "Sirius, I think you should watch what you say in front of Melanie. I would wonder what she might do if you actually wanted to go out with Rebecca."

Sirius chuckled, a bit too nervously, as he saw that Melanie was eyeing him with intense anger. He patted her shoulder. "Oh, calm down, Mel, I didn't mean anything by it, honest. Just don't…turn me into anything, ok?"

"I mean, fine, I'll admit, she's a thousand times better looking than anyone in this school," Lily said, with a little hint of envy. "But that doesn't mean she could be perfect. For goodness' sakes, I'm Head Girl, and I'm ugly."

James and Remus looked at each other. Other than Melanie and Sarah, the two boys were one of Lily's closest friends. "You're not ugly, Lil," Remus spoke up.

Peter nodded in agreement. He had a crush on Lily Evans, and wanted to be in good terms with her.

"Yeah, Lil," Sirius said, startling the group, "You're not ugly, you're just one of those people who don't care about their appearance much."

James nudged Sirius. "Um…I think you got her angry."

True enough, Lily's green eyes flashed angrily and she stomped away from the Gryffindor table. She sat far from the Marauders and was chatting with a younger Gryffindor student until Dumbledore came up to speak. He went on about his regular announcements; welcoming the first years, the Forbidden Forest, news of the exchange student, and then it came to Quidditch.

"We won't be having our regular Quidditch teams this year," the Headmaster said.

This caused James, Sarah, and Sirius to drop whatever they were holding onto the floor (in Sirius' case, he dropped his wand, causing a small explosion that startled everyone).

"WHAT?!" James and Sarah cried out. James was Captain and Seeker of the team while Sarah had been Gryffindor Chaser. Since Sirius was chosen as Beater just two years ago, he also cried out, frustrated, "How could you cancel them?! This is our last year to play! And win!"

Dumbledore silenced the protesting students and continued, "You misunderstand me. I said we wouldn't be having our regular Quidditch teams this year. However, we will be sponsoring this year's International Quidditch Match. Two of our rival schools will be bringing their best teams along for the competition. The winning team is rewarded 2000 Galleons, which will be split amongst themselves of course. "

Everyone in the hall started talking at once. James and the rest of the Marauders had the gleam in their eyes as they thought of the prize. Only Lily frowned. "Are you guys crazy?!"

"What's wrong?" Melanie asked.

The Head Girl kept frowning. "That tournament is highly competitive! People are fifty feet in the air, and you wouldn't know what those schools will do to any of you! What if you seriously get hurt?"

"Aw, Lil," James whined, "You know that any of us are capable of taking care of ourselves. You shouldn't worry much about it. Besides, no one has died from an actual Quidditch match anyway."

Lily shrugged and walked away. "Suit yourself."

Sarah stopped her daydreaming and looked on as Lily disappeared. "What's wrong with Lil?"

"She's probably still angry at what Padfoot said," Peter answered.

Again, Melanie jabbed Sirius. "You should really consider people's feelings before you say something horrible like that."

"Ow! Okay, I'll try to remember your little piece of advice, sheesh."

After the feast, everyone went upstairs to the common rooms. On their way up the stairs, Sirius, James, and Remus were flocked around by girls of all ages, mainly 5th, 6th, and 7th years. Sarah and Melanie managed to slink away, while Peter moved to a far corner, meditating his thoughts.

"Ladies, ladies," Sirius chuckled, flashing his irresistible smile, "No need to crowd around Remus and me. We're taken already. James here is still available though, if you are interested."

James glared at his friend. "You didn't have to announce it like that."

Sirius grinned. "You're welcome, Prongs."

"So, you are James Potter, yes?" a voice said from behind.

Everyone turned around to see the new exchange student. Her eyes were greatly amused.

James gulped and smiled back. "Yes, that's me. What do you want?"

She laughed. Most of the girls left, since they were discouraged due to Rebecca's immense beauty. The girl moved on closer and whispered in James' ear, "You busy Saturday night?"

"No," this time it was James' turn to be amused. "If it's a date you want, though, I'm afraid I don't have time for one."

Rebecca looked shocked, and then smiled mockingly, "What? Ze notorious James Potter who broke many hearts has no time to date? Tell me, you think you are too good for me?"

Sirius and Remus quietly moved away from the uncomfortable situation James was handling. Lily was watching curiously and slowly crept up to stand near James' side. The Head Boy shook his head. "It's not that. It's because you seem to think you're the most beautiful girl ever to grace the school. I kind of don't like your attitude."

Melanie glanced at Lily, as she walked next to her friend. James Potter, telling a girl that he didn't like her attitude? There must be something about Rebecca Ruppert that James really did dislike. The two girls heard Rebecca ask, "Oh, and what kind of girl iz ideal for you? Someone smart and ugly?"

Lily giggled, then closed her mouth as Rebecca looked at her. The exchange student pointed at the Head Girl. "So, you think she could stand a candle up to moi?"

James shrugged. "She probably does, if she fixed herself up and all."

"James!" Lily said, happy and appalled at the same time, "Don't drag me into this!"

Melanie hushed her friend. Rebecca and James ignored the two; both determined to gain the upper hand. The gorgeous girl continued. "I see. Well, here's a bet, Potter. You turn Miss Red Head into ze princess you see her as and I will never bother you again. Failure to do so, and you agree to my terms, which iz, a whole year being my boyfriend."

"He'll take that bet!" Melanie cried out, "Won't you, Potter?"

The Head Boy nodded, ignoring Lily's screams of protest. Rebecca laughed again and left the scene. James shook his head. "She would go pretty well with Snape. Beauty and the Beast if you ask me."

"James Potter!!!" Lily screamed her loudest. "How dare you use me as a part of this game you are playing with her!"

Melanie laughed. "Oh, hush, Lil. Besides, you do need a makeover. Who knows, we might find the real face of Lily Evans in there."

James looked closely at Lily and suddenly groaned. "Oh no, what have I gotten myself into?!"

"Yes, what have you gotten yourself into?" Sirius asked, "Prongs, have you no sense? You can't magically turn Lily into a model in a matter of weeks!"

Remus and an angered Lily spoke up, "Why not?"

Melanie gave Sirius a warning look. Padfoot kept his mouth shut. James let out another groan. "This is impossible! I can't make you into a beauty queen! Even Melanie couldn't match that overbearing woman that she is!"

"Well," Lily crossed her arms over her chest. "I told you not to go and put me in your argument."

Remus looked Lily over, seeing her in a new perspective. He smiled slightly, "You know, Potter, I do think you can win the bet. I really do."


	4. Chapter 3

"I can't believe you of all people are dragging me to Hogsmeade, looking for cosmetics! You're not putting something artificial on me!" Lily cried out, walking sullenly besides James.

The Head Boy smiled. "We're not going to put makeup on your face, Lil. You just need a suitable dress for the Entrance Ball that Professor McGonagall told us about. We should all look our best since Beouxbaton and Durmstrang students are coming in."

Lily glared up at him. "I should be doing this with Sarah and Melanie. Not you! You should be practicing for your first Quidditch match against Beauxbatons!"

"Your two friends seem to be carrying a detention for Filch. I didn't think Moony, Wormtail, or Padfoot might wanna come," James replied, "And, I don't need anymore practicing. The Beauxbatons are merely pushovers. Their flying style is similar to that of Ravenclaw."

"How sure are you of Ravenclaw's style of flight?" Lily asked, surprised.

James shrugged. "Sirius and I have our resources. Besides, after Thomas and Will left, they decided to help out Gryffindor for Melanie. Such awesome guys…"

"Really, how else could you have found out?"

"Padfoot and I have other things up our sleeves…like our transfiguration technique…"

"Ooooh…you really should register yourself as an Animagus after we graduate," the Head Girl suggested.

"Only if you decide to become one, Lily dear," James joked, which resulted in a punch on the shoulder.

The two walked into Dierdre's Dress Shop. James looked around and spotted a short, light green dress with spaghetti straps. He handed the dress to Lily, who looked at it with astonishment. "See if it's your size," James said.

"Potter! I can't wear that! It's too…revealing!" Lily cried out.

Running his hand through his messy black hair, James took the dress from Lily and placed it in front of her, to see if it would fit. Nodding, he pulled the Head Girl towards the counter.

Lily kept silent until they reached the counter. "How did you earn the skill of knowing which dress looks good on a girl anyway?"

"Easy," James answered, grinning, "If you've been with so many girls that would keep asking whether they looked good in one outfit than on another, you would be able to tell as well."

Green eyes sparkled with amusement. Then Lily realized something. "Hey! You're not paying for it, are you? That's my dress!"

James shrugged, giving the cashier 35 Galleons. Lily's mouth went wide. "Thirty-five Galleons?! James, are you crazy?"

"Oh, calm down, Lil," he said, smiling, "Call it my belated birthday gift. I haven't gotten you one yet."

Shaking her head, Lily accepted the dress. James carried the bag as they walked on, this time in silence. When they passed a ribbon shop, Lily stopped. "Wait, I need to buy something here. It does help to accessorize."

The Head Boy laughed and waited for Lily outside. She came out with another bag. James looked on in amazement. "How many things did you buy?"

"Oh, a trifle amount," Lily said, grinning.

"You guys seem to be having fun," Sarah said from behind.

Lily and James turned to see Sirius taking a picture. "Sirius Black! Why did you do that for?!"

Holding up the photo, Melanie grinned. "Hey, Lily, I told you that you and Potter would look good together!"

"Give me that!" Lily cried out, trying to grab the picture from Melanie.

Sarah laughed. "Oh, come on, Lil. We need that photo for blackmail or something."

Sirius grinned. "Yeah, think about it, 'James Potter Shopping'."

The picture flew out of Melanie's grasp and James caught it, putting his wand back in his pocket. He looked at it strangely. "Hey, Padfoot, why does the picture show me kissing Lily?"

Lily burned with embarrassment as everyone but James and her laughed. Remus tried to answer while wiping tears in his eyes. "That…was Sarah's idea!"

"Sarah, you're going to die," Lily swore.

The Seeker shook his head and smiled. "Hey, Lil, can I keep the picture?"

Melanie swooned. "Aww…Potter wants to keep the photo! How cute!"

"As long as you don't use it for blackmail as well!" Lily cried out, green eyes flashing.

James pocketed the picture and patted Lily on the shoulders. "Calm down, Lily. It was a harmless prank. Besides, if it isn't the truth, then it doesn't hurt, does it?"

The Head Girl shook her head. What James didn't know was that she was beginning to really like him. It was that small tugging feeling that kept saying that she should look her best, to impress him at least. However, Lily shook that thought from her head, frowning. After the year before, she doubted the fact that she could ever date anyone again. The Marauders headed back to the school. There was a small commotion at the front, and Lily went ahead to check it out. Meanwhile, Sirius and Remus cornered James, while Peter was distracting the girls.

"So, Prongs," Sirius teased, "You finally gonna admit that you like Lily more than a friend?"

James looked puzzled. "What are you talking about, Sirius?"

Remus raised an eyebrow. "It's odd why you wanted to keep the picture that we took of you and her."

The Head Boy turned away, not wanting to admit his partiality to Lily Evans. He didn't want his best friends to find out now. Gulping, he quickly thought of an excuse. "I kept that picture because it's the most recent image I have of her, and I wanted to compare it to the new Lily when she gets her makeover."

Sirius and Remus didn't seem to believe a word James Potter said. Shrugging, Remus turned away. Sirius grinned, "Alright, whatever you say, Prongs. But when you are having problems trying to say something to her, don't come running to me."

"Padfoot, you insult her more than I do," James retorted, blushing, "And why should I worry about what I say to Lily? She's my friend, and that's that!"

Again, Sirius flashed his best friend a grin and skipped towards Melanie, whistling a tune. She frowned at him. "What are you guys up to?"

"Oh, nothing, dear," Sirius murmured, planting a kiss on Melanie's cheek, to her utter astonishment.

Lily came back, a bit irritated. Peter noticed this. "What happened, Lil?"

Pointing at Rebecca Ruppert, Lily's green eyes flickered dangerously. "That's what just happened. Thought that she could just bewitch several students to do what she wants them to. Do you know how illegal that is? She was trying to use the Imperius Curse!"

Peter turned pale. Sarah and Melanie gasped. "Really, I appreciate a good prank, but using one of the Unforgivable Curses? Now that's going too far," James commented.

"That girl's got guts," Sirius stated, this time, getting hit with a book. "Ow! Melanie!"

Rebecca approached them. "So, gone shopping, Potter? What did you need to buy? A miracle working kit for ze Head Girl?"

Lily fumed and was about to say something, but was interrupted by an announcement. It was Professor McGonagall's voice. "Would the Gryffindor Quidditch team and the team representing Beauxbaton please enter the Quidditch arena? Our first tournament is about to start. Everyone else, please head on to the field where the first International Quidditch match is about to start.

Remus frowned, "The first match was today?"

"Yeah," James sighed. "Oh well, better get ourselves ready. Come on, Sirius, Sarah. Wish us luck, guys."

Everyone but Lily wished James and the others good luck. Rebecca's eyes turned with interest towards the Quidditch players and headed to the field to watch in her own way. The Head Girl accompanied James, Sirius and Sarah to the trail that led towards the Gryffindor locker rooms. James looked at her curiously. "Why are you following us?"

"Two things," she answered calmly, and then exploded in his face. "YOU BUM! YOU WERE WITH ME IDLING ABOUT WHEN YOU HAD A MATCH TODAY! Haven't you had any sense to at least practice?!"

The Head Boy flinched at Lily's cries and tried to smile, his eyes a bit grim. "Calm down, Lily. It's going to be fine. Sirius, Sarah and I have practiced this all day yesterday, while all of you were busy studying for no apparent reason. Catching the Snitch isn't too hard a task, so don't worry about me."

Lily snorted, "Who said I was worrying? Oh, and the other thing, hand me your glasses, will you?"

James shrugged and took his glasses off, making Lily stare for a while. She thought of how great looking James really was even when his glasses were off. Sarah and Sirius glanced at each other and grinned. After a slight pause, Lily hastily grabbed the glasses and pointed her wand at it, muttering a small spell. "I'm surprised you haven't bewitched your glasses so that you can see through them, no matter what the weather is. Don't worry about cracks, it won't happen."

James looked at her, amazed. "Wow. Thanks, Lil." With that, he headed inside.

Sarah smiled mischievously and pretended to blow a kiss towards the Head Girl. "Why thank you, Lil! I so very appreciate— "

"Come on, Sarah, before she pounds the both of us!" Sirius cried out at her and pushed her into the tent.

"You're welcome, Potter," Lily said softly and ignored the comments made by her other friends. She turned to go to the Quidditch field, where everybody was assembled. Melanie waved at her. "Come on! It's about to start!"


	5. Chapter 4

"Lils! I saved you a spot!" Remus cried out, patting a hand right next to a seat between him and Melanie.

Peter grabbed his wand and held it up in the air, where it shot sparks out. Fireworks exploded, showing a message. As Lily read it, she laughed. The sign read, "Mess with the best, die like the rest! Gryffindor house for Hogwarts all the way!" This message sent a wave of cheers coming from the Hogwarts students and a round of 'boos' from Durmstrang, Beauxbaton, and the Slytherin students. Peter was pleased and took a bow, until Melanie pulled him down, scolding him.

Remus smiled slightly and Lily clapped on Pettigrew's back with congratulations on pulling yet another stunt. Everyone came to silence after the loudspeaker came on to announce the players in each team. At first, everyone waited with anticipation as the Quidditch teams flew in. Samuel Donovan, the Quidditch announcer, came up on the loudspeaker. "Ladies and gentlemen, students of Hogwarts, Durmstrang, and Beauxbaton, I present to you the Beauxbaton Quidditch team! At their head is Louisa Delacour, Seeker and…wow! Isn't she absolutely gorgeous?! Better watch out, Potter, don't get distracted now!"

Professor McGonagall could be heard screaming at Sam in the background, and the Gryffindor student gulped. "Er…sorry, Professor, it won't happen again. And here they are! Jamais, Sacherell, Meron, Narbigia, Lombard, and Zerah! Scream for the Beauxbaton Quidditch team everyone!"

People clapped and whistled, especially most of the female population in Hogwarts, who swooned and drooled over the male Quidditch players. Lily chuckled and bent over to talk to Melanie. "You know, this could be a modeling business show as well, with all these good looking people coming out."

"Sirius and James are lucky…" Peter observed. "They get to meet those players in person."

Melanie frowned. "They better not get too physical…"

Remus chuckled. "If they do, you could always hex Sirius' broom."

"What? And make our school lose? Not a chance!"

Sam Donovan continued to announce the second team. "And, here are Hogwarts' grandest Quidditch team! Represented by none other than the house of Gryffindor, and led by Seeker James Potter! Head Boy and Head Seeker! Now look at him go! Isn't he amazing?! Following him is his best friend Sirius Black, and after are Morran, Trent, Tortal, Shiek, and Hoover! Give it up for the Hogwarts Quidditch team everybody!"

The majority of the audience cheered, and Remus was spraying confetti all over the place, forgetting the fact that they haven't won just yet. Lily and Melanie almost jumped out of their seats, waving and clapping at their friends. Sirius waved back and blew a kiss at Melanie, who blushed and clapped even harder. Sarah was waving with both her hands off her broom that it was difficult for her to stay on the broomstick without jerking into different directions. James momentarily looked up and scanned the crowd. He found his friends and smiled, then looked back down, apparently a bit nervous. He turned to his team. "Okay, just as we've practiced before. Sirius, Alisha, stay in between the Chasers as much as you can. It is best if the two of you are on opposite sides, to prevent the Bludger from gaining on any of our Chasers. Sarah, Cameron, and Chris, just rack up those points as usual, alright? Don't worry about me, I'll be up top, looking for the Snitch. And Lief, just block your hardest, don't let them get more than a hundred and fifty points ahead of us."

The young fifth year nodded, a bit pale, "Hey, don't worry, I haven't let you down yet, have I?"

"Hey, don't get distracted up there, Potter," commented Sirius, who grinned, "That Delacour has her eyes set on doing just that."

Sarah shoved Sirius and the Beater had to steady himself on his broom. "Hey, I was only joking! Let's win this, for Hogwarts, and for Gryffindor!"

"LIONS GO!"

And they were up, soaring into the air, as the game began. Samuel screamed the play-by-play over the microphone. "And Morran has the Quaffle…passed on to Tortal, oh no! Zerah has stolen the Quaffle! Now it's being passed to Jamais, a young man most of the females here would be glad to see in action…ah! YES! Overtaken by Sarah Morran! THAT'S THE GIRL! She passes it to Cameron…come on, you can score…AND SHE DID!! TEN POINTS TO GRYFFINDOR…er…I MEAN, HOGWARTS!!"

The game became more hectic, as the Beauxbaton team flew in a more complex formation. After a while, Beauxbaton managed to score three shots and were twenty points ahead of the game. "And Beauxbaton takes the lead! Where is the Hogwarts pride here?! HEY SIRIUS! SHOOT THE BLUDGER AT ZERAH'S HEAD!"

"SAMUEL! I WILL NOT HAVE YOU SCREAMING VIOLENCE IN HERE!" was Professor McGonagall's cry.

"I'm sorry, professor! But I can't help feeling overwhelmed with Hogwarts pride up here! OH YEAH! AND CHRIS HOOVER SCORES! THAT'S IT! TEN MORE POINTS AND WE TIE!"

Up at the top, James soared the air, in search of the one object that would determine the fate of the game. The Seeker noticed that the pretty Delacour girl was trailing him, and he turned to meet her. He smiled. "Hey, I'm James Potter. And you are?"

The blonde girl smiled and tilted her head, "Felicity Delacour. Are you alwayz zis friendly in a Quidditch match?"

"Why not?"

"Well, you could lose points, you know…ze Snitch might be behind you and I'm distracting your focus."

Lily spotted James at the top, having a small conversation, and she hissed angrily, "What in the world is he doing consorting with the enemy?! POTTER, YOU IDIOT!! STAY FOCUSED!"

It seems that Sirius and Sam also noticed this and cried out simultaneously, "JAMES POTTER! FOCUS ON THE SNITCH AND STOP FLIRTING! OR CAN'T YOU SEE?! WE'RE LOSING HERE!!!"

True enough, Beauxbaton was beating them with around 40 points now. Remus was shaking his head. "Ahh…poor Lief…he's having it tough with that team. They're really pounding him now."

"Argh…COME ON! SIRIUS!! JAMES! SARAH!!!!" Melanie cried out desperately, "WIN THIS! DON'T DISAPPOINT MY BROTHERS!!!!"

At the side, James spotted something of miniature size fly by…with a quick tap on his broom, James soared even higher, in search of the Snitch, which apparently was now loose and in the game. Sensing James' awareness, Felicity also flew on about, looking for the golden ball. Peter saw it first, and fumbled for his wand. "Sonorus!"

"POTTER!! THE SNITCH!! BEHIND YOU!! GET THE SNITCH!"

As soon as the Head Boy heard Peter's cry, he maneuvered his broom and zoomed straight towards the Snitch. Felicity was also in hot pursuit. The crowed looked on intently, to see who could reach it first.

"YYYYYYYEAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!! POTTER'S GOT THE SNITCH!! HOGWARTS WINS THE FIRST MATCH!! MY GOD! WHAT A MATCH! DON'T WORRY BEAUXBATON TEAM, YOU WILL GET ANOTHER MATCH AGAINST DURMSTRANG FOR OUR NEXT COMPETITION! WOOHOO!! GIVE IT UP FOR THE GRYFFINDOR TEAM!" was Sam's excited reply to the game's end.

James was on the ground, tired and still clutching the Snitch, while Sirius and Sarah were hugging him in their tight grips. The rest of the Gryffindor team congratulated each other. When James got up, he was flocked by the whole of the team and literally squashed. Alisha, the other Beater, was screaming at the top of her lungs, her hand limp from clutching her bat too tightly and swinging with her might on any Bludger coming against her.

By the time the team got to the Quidditch tent, the Beauxbatons were already refreshed and well showered. Felicity came up to them and held up her hand to James. "Hey, just wanted to tell you zat zere are no hard feelings, oui? Zat was a good match, and next time we meet, it won't be zat eezy to beat me."

Sirius had no strength to tease James after the Beauxbaton Seeker left. He was just too tired. Melanie, Lily, Peter, and Remus managed to find their way into the Quidditch tent and Melanie rushed towards James and hugged him. "Way to go, Potter! I was beginning to think that you've lost it when you started to talk to the other Seeker."

"Yeah, what was all that about?" Lily demanded, frowning down at him, "Trying to get a date during a Quidditch game?!"

Sarah pulled on Lily's sleeve. "You didn't think we'd go down that easily, did you? Didn't we tell you that we practiced the whole day yesterday?"

Remus shook hands with the rest of the Gryffindor team. "Good work, guys, haven't seen an exciting game since two years ago. Keep us proud."

Lief shook his head, "I did pretty badly up there. Those Chasers were well coordinated."

"Did it matter? We won!" shrieked Cameron. "That's all that matters!"

When the rest of the Gryffindor team left, the Mauraders were sprawled in the tent, waiting for Sarah to get out of the showers. Melanie looked around and spotted two of the Beauxbaton Quidditch players. Being the nicest of the group, she went up to Felicity and the young man. "Hello, it was quite an exciting game, was it not?"

Felicity nodded coldly and looked over the raven-haired girl with hawk-like eyes. "Yes, I suppose. Now if you excuse me, I must be heading back. It wouldn't do well if Madame Maxime worried over us. Come on, Tristan."

The student named Tristan kept his gaze on Melanie, which made her nervous. Sirius came to her rescue by wheeling her over to where James was seated. Glancing to where Melanie had been standing, Lily noticed that Tristan was still looking at the dark haired girl. Feeling a shiver, she nudged Sirius, who was having a conversation with Sarah. "Hey, Padfoot, I think Tristan Lombard likes Melanie or something."

This comment got to Sirius. He turned to look at Lombard and sure enough, he was _still _looking at Melanie. This made Sirius Black frown. "Hm…suspicious, Lil, but I don't know. I'll have to see what he does about it first."

"What are you all so whispery about?" James asked, turning his attention at the two. "Come on, it couldn't be something so important that you would whisper to Sirius, would you, Lil?"

Remus pointed his finger at Lombard, who now looked away. "Oh, it's nothing. Lily just told Padfoot that Lombard over there might have a partiality to Melanie, that's all."

James and Melanie looked at each other, then laughed. Sirius Black's girlfriend told them, "Nonsense. It couldn't be. I only talked to him for two seconds until Padfoot dragged me here again. I mean, come on, Sirius. Don't tell me you're jealous!"

"No, I'm not!" Sirius suddenly cried out, too quickly for everyone to think it true. James smirked and stood up, grabbing his broom. He looked at Lily, "Well, Sarah's taking a mighty long time to get out of the showers, don't you think?"

Everyone laughed, and Peter left. Remus looked around the tent and nodded. "Come on, you guys, this place is empty. We should be going too. I'm sure Sarah will catch up."

The Marauders agreed and walked out, leaving Sirius and James alone, with James pondering on why Sarah was taking forever and Sirius pondering on Tristan Lombard. "Does he really like her?"

"You're kidding me, Padfoot," James chuckled. "You, the dashing wonder that all the females are dying to have, are jealous of Tristan Lombard? How is that even possible?"

"Be quiet, Prongs," Sirius snapped back, glaring at him, "Would you like me to tell Lily that you like her?"

James reddened and scowled. "Hey, lay off. I'm busy here."

Sirius's mood lifted and he laughed, always delighted to impose discomfort on his best friend. James aimed a fist at Sirius's shoulder, but missed, almost hitting Lily, who came back to drag the two outside. Lily's green eyes grew alarmed, then dodged the hit before it even went close to her. As she did this, her hair clip fell away, loosing her red hair from her usual bun. Lily picked up her hair clip and glared at the guys. "Come on, we're all waiting outside. Remus and Peter suggested a small sneaking into Hogsmeade for a little celebration. I don't agree…but I guess…just this once is probably okay. What's the matter? Stop looking at me like that!"

The two guys stared at her, their mouths hanging open. Lily Evans actually looked…_stunning_. Sarah came in, looking around. "What's wrong with you people? Why are you still standing there? Come on! Let's go!"

"Yeah," Lily said, walking out, fixing her hair.

"Hey, James," Sirius said, nudging his best friend, "Did you see what I saw?"

The Head Boy nodded, "I can't believe my eyes."

Sarah looked at one then the other. "What is wrong with you two today? Is something wrong?"

"Sarah," Sirius said, calmly, "Why haven't you told us that Lily was a natural model?"

At this comment, Sarah burst out laughing, and couldn't answer for a few minutes. At this time, the whole Marauder gang came back in the tent, finally dragging everyone out and going to Hogsmeade.


	6. Chapter 5

Talk of the Entrance Ball increased as it came closer to that day. Even the Marauders couldn't avoid the subject. James was getting anxious. Remus saw his friend's nervousness. "What's wrong, Prongs?"

"I don't know who I have to take!" James wailed, "I'm certainly not going to ask Rebecca!"

Melanie yawned, stretching. "Why don't you just take me? Sirius over there hasn't asked me yet, and I don't think he will anyway. Then there's always Miss Felicity Delacour."

Sirius glanced at her and sighed. He was about to open his mouth, when Tristan Lombard approached the table. He smiled nervously at Melanie and fiddled with his tie. "Um…Melanie…"

The girl looked intently at him, listening while Sirius was getting angry. "What is it?"

"Will you go with me to the Entrance Ball?"

"Buzz off, buster!" Sirius cried out, infuriated, "Nobody's going with Melanie but me!"

Tristan looked at him calmly, "Did you ask her yet?"

Sarah smirked, loving the fact that two very attractive guys were fighting over her cousin. Remus pulled Sarah over and whispered in her ear. She nodded, and the two walked away, leaving Peter, Lily, James, Sirius, and Melanie at the table. Peter also shirked away, wanting to keep away from altercations of any kind.

"Guys, relax," Melanie said, a bit panicked. "No need to fight, okay?"

Lily whispered to James, "Maybe you really should take Melanie to the dance. She did ask you."

"No way!" Potter answered, "Besides, who are you going with?"

The Head Girl shrugged. "Who else? Maybe I might actually agree to go with Peter."

James laughed. He smiled, "Hey, since you're still available, why don't you go with me to the Entrance Ball? I wouldn't want to be left with no partner, and with Sirius seething with anger like that, I don't think he'd ever let me near Melanie."

"James Potter, you are asking me to go with you to the Entrance Ball?" Lily asked, mockingly, "The man who could earn devotion in a heartbeat? Why don't you ask any other girl?"

He looked around, "That's because if I ask any one of them, everyone else will start to jump on me as well. Better keep it safe and ask a friend. Is that okay?"

Lily nodded, and glanced at Sirius and Tristan, who were still glaring daggers at each other. Melanie sighed and smiled sweetly at Lombard. "I'd love to go with you, Tristan."

"HUH?!" Everyone in the table cried out, even Lombard himself. Sirius gulped, "You are?"

Melanie nodded, glaring at Sirius. "You heard me. I'm going with Tristan."

The lucky boy nodded, smiling, and left the table, going back to his friends and telling them the great news. James looked on with shock at what Melanie just did. Lily broke the silence. "Melanie, are you okay? Didn't you mean, you weren't going with Tristan Lombard?"

"I meant what I said, Lily," Melanie said sternly, "I'm going with Lombard to the Entrance Ball and that's that."

Sirius shrugged. "Suit yourself. I'll just ask someone else."

The girl glared at him and walked away, not hungry anymore. As she left, Sirius fell onto his chair, still shocked. He put his hands on his face. "What have I done?!"

Lily looked on with concern. "Sirius, are you okay? You don't mean to tell me that Melanie wasn't just a momentary date, was she?"

"No!" Sirius shook his head. "Now who am I going to bring to the Entrance Ball? Rosa Johnson?"

James chuckled, "Why not? I hear she's still available. Want me to call her?"

To Lily and James' surprise, Sirius shook his head. "That's okay, I'll go alone. I don't really need a partner."

"Sirius Black," Lily began, "Master of Seducing Women, Great Handsome Dashing Wizard of the Year, not want a date for the ball? What has happened to you?"

"Nothing!" Sirius answered, a bit too quickly, "Hey, I think classes are about to start in a few minutes. Let's go, or we'll be late."

Lily and James looked at each other. Sirius? Not wanting to be late? There was definitely something wrong with him. And James was going to figure out what.

"Padfoot!" James and Remus cried out, trying to catch up with Sirius, who was walking as fast as he can towards the trophy room. He turned and stopped to wait for his two best friends.

Sirius smiled at them uncertainly. Remus frowned. "What's been eating at you? Are you still getting over Melanie? Is that it?"

James looked at his friend with concern, "Hey, Sirius, are you really okay?"

"Yeah, I am," Sirius grinned, almost his normal self again, "I have a detention to carry out, so, I'll meet you guys…"

"No way," James interrupted, "We're going with you, whether you like it or not. What are friends for?"

Remus was about to protest until James shot him a look and he nodded as well. They worked on wordlessly, cleaning the trophies in the room, until Remus broke the silence. "So, Padfoot, any ideas who you are taking with you to the ball? You know, it is going on tonight."

Sirius shrugged. "I asked Cameron. She said yes, after I told her of my desperation. Of course, who could resist?"

James and Remus laughed, "So, you really are back to normal."

"Who wouldn't be?" Sirius chuckled, then his eyes gleamed. "Hey, Prongs, I heard you're going with Miss Evans. Well, that's not surprising."

The Head Boy stopped. "What are you hinting at?"

Remus's eyes also gleamed. "Isn't it obvious? YOU—LIKE—HER."

"Hey! We're only going as friends!"

As James suffered these torments from his two best friends, Lily and the others were getting dressed for the occasion. Lily just walked in the girls' dorm, and spotted Melanie and Sarah fussing with their hair. Sarah spotted Lily and pulled her over to a mirror. "Come on, you better get dressed. Your hair is going to take forever to fix if you want to look like a model when you get down there."

Melanie was already holding the dress that James bought in Hogsmeade. "Wow, this dress is really expensive. Potter picked it out? Well, I appreciate his taste."

"Would I pick out a dress like that?" Lily asked, a bit irritated, "Besides, dressing and fixing myself up like this was definitely not on my to do list this year."

The two cousins waited for Lily to get her dress on and then started with her hair. Sarah was holding bobby pins in her mouth, and had been fixing Lily's fiery red hair. Melanie sighed. "You know, Lil, I wished I had your hair."

Lily almost snorted. "Why? Melanie, you're already gorgeous enough. Stop complaining."

"Yeah, well," Melanie said, crossly, "Maybe Sirius would pay more attention if I had a lighter hair color like Sarah's."

Her cousin looked at her. "Hey, Mel, you still brooding over him? Don't worry, by the end of the ball, he'll crawl back to you, pleading for you and him to get back together. If I didn't know him better, then I wouldn't say something like this, but he really loves you."

"To be sure," Lily agreed, "Didn't you see him sulking about? He even hesitated to ask Cameron Tortal to the dance!"

Melanie laughed. "Wow, I didn't know. I shouldn't have done that to poor Padfoot. I really should apologize."

"Oh, don't worry about it," Sarah replied, combing Lily's hair down, leaving the ends of her red hair curling about. "Lil, turn around and let us get a good look at you."

Lily did as she was told and was surprised to see Sarah and Melanie starry eyed. Melanie was sniffing with delight while Sarah jumped joyfully about. "Beautiful! This is great! Rebecca, eat your heart out!"

"Lil," Melanie was already getting teary eyed, "Make us proud and go out there!"

The Head Girl pulled on her dress and remembered something important. She took a green ribbon from her drawer and tied it around her wrist, making it resemble a bracelet of some kind. She smiled, then stepped out, followed by Melanie and Sarah. As they walked out, the three girls were admired and looked at by many guys who were heading to pick up their dates. Even the guys with girlfriends stared at them, wishing that their girlfriends looked half as good as the three did.

Sarah laughed and pointed at Remus, who was just coming in. "Look! They're here! Melanie, Lily, come on! We gotta stun them!"

Remus spotted his date and smiled. He came closer and grabbed Sarah's hand. "You look great, Sarah."

"Why thank you, Moony," Sarah giggled, then waved good-bye to Lily and Melanie, who glanced about a bit nervously.

Melanie looked around, waiting for her date to pick her up. "Where could that Lombard be? I wouldn't want Sirius to be here before my partner shows up."

Unfortunately, Sirius and James showed up before Lombard appeared. James and Sirius noticed Melanie first and their mouths were wide open. Looking mischievous, Melanie pointed to Lily. "Hey, you forgetting the Head Girl, belle of the ball tonight?"

As their gazes moved to Lily Evans, their mouths were hanging even wider than when they saw Melanie. Sirius whistled, and James was speechless. Melanie congratulated herself and her cousin for having a job well done.

"Wow," Sirius said, then got back to his senses, "Yes, ahem…I better go and pick Cameron up."

He left, making Melanie look gloomy. "Yeah, I better go find Tristan, too."

This left James and Lily to stare at each other. Lily smiled nervously, "Well? Are we going to go now?"

"After you, Miss Evans," James said, holding his hand up to hers.

At this moment, Lily knew at once that she would finally have a good time.

Sure enough, Sarah was right. Melanie was already bored with Tristan and kindly told him that she was going to leave him after the first dance. She walked towards the table that the Marauders picked out to be theirs. Peter was sitting by himself as well. "Hey, didn't you come with someone?"

"Yeah," Peter answered, "Presea went to the lady's room. She'll be back in a few minutes."

Melanie nodded. She sat down, and Peter's partner came back, leaving Melanie sitting in the Marauder table all alone, that is, until Sirius also came upon the table. He looked nervously and sat down. "So, enjoying yourself?"

His "supposedly ex-girlfriend" glared at him. "What's it to you? I bet you're having fun with Cameron Tortal."

"Aw, come on, Mel," Sirius said, his eyes serious, "Why'd you do that for? You know I was going to ask you until Lombard showed up. Why are you angry at me for?"

"For being such a jerk, Sirius," was her cold reply, "Don't think I forgot how much you were flirting with Felicity Delacour just a few days go."

The young man nodded thoughtfully, "Yes, I do see the problem. But you know it was just jest. I couldn't stray too far from a beautiful and smart girl like you. Now, look what you did. You've made me speak mush!"

A smile played on Melanie's lips. "Does that mean you wanna dance, Padfoot?"

Sirius also smiled, "Hey, why not? Let's rock the dance floor!"

The couple held each other's hands and started dancing to the beat, careful to tread on everyone's toes wherever they danced. Sarah and Lily saw this, and the two of them smiled at each other, satisfied that Sirius Black and Melanie Belle were back together again. James also noticed this and whistled. "So, Sirius really does love her. Ha, Peter owes me 10 Galleons."

"Honestly," Lily scolded, "You guys bet on this situation?"

"Who doesn't?" James grinned.

A slow song began to play, and Lily stopped, reluctantly. "I'm a bit tired, so I'll go and sit down."

James held her hand. "Oh no, not until we finish dancing to this one."

The two danced to the music, getting absorbed into each other's eyes. As the song finished, James let go and Lily stepped away, telling her partner that she needed to get a drink. Melanie was winking at the Head Girl like mad, and this annoyed Lily. "What are you winking at? Do you have something in your eye?"

"Oh, no, Lily dear," Melanie said, laughing an evil laugh, "It's just that you two really look good out there. Makes me and the rest of the Marauders kinda want to see you guys…you know…hooked."

"WHAT?!" James asked, also coming in, and hearing Melanie's statement. "I don't believe this, what are you talking about, Melanie? We're only friends. Besides, since Lily is really gorgeous now, I bet all these guys are waiting just to dance with her, right, Lil?"

Lily smiled and left, not wanting to set an uncomfortable situation. James looked on, puzzled. "Did I say something wrong?"

Melanie glared at the one who Lily has finally given her heart to. "You don't get it, do you, Potter?"

"What?" James asked, receiving another furious glare from Melanie.

The dark haired girl had an urge to throw something at the Head Boy, but managed to stop herself and talked to him as calmly as she could. "James, don't you think you should stop hurting her and tell her how you feel about her already? I mean, come on, I saw you two when you were both dancing on the floor…"

Running his hand through his hair, he sighed. "I can't do that…Melanie. It isn't as easy as you think. I'm not like you or Sirius…"

"Oh, but you understand how Sirius feels and acts, is that it?" Melanie asked, "So you wouldn't know what to do in a situation like this? You're just going to let her go?!"

James Potter held up his hand in alarm, looking about to see if anyone heard his friend. "Shh…not so loud, Mel. They don't need to hear this! Look, can we talk in a place less populated?"

Raising her eyebrows, Melanie grabbed James' arm and led him into a quiet clearing, with a bench and a fountain. Melanie looked about and nodded with approval. "Nice place they got here. Not bad when you take Lily out on a date."

"Me!" James cried out, "It's not like that…please…"

She hushed her friend and sat down on the bench, not even bothering to offer the empty space to James. Melanie sighed and looked up at the stars. "You know, as surprised as I was, Sirius took me here. That's why I know about this place."

The Head Boy nodded, not surprised that Sirius would do something like that. It only made things clear. Then he turned around to face her. "So, what were you talking about before you were carried away with another topic? Hey, you better hurry up, or Sirius will be suspicious and he might think that you're cheating on him and going out with his best friend."

Melanie laughed, then her eyes turned grim, "It's Lily…she's…well…"

Sparks flew through the air, making the sky glow bright, and they could see a figure up in the sky, laughing as they flew with a broomstick. James looked up, and he saw that it was none other than Sarah, who was using her broomstick. He smiled. Melanie and Sarah were completely different. Sarah was the risk-taker, and second in the lead when it came to the number of detentions. Sirius and James took the lead with 125 that year. Melanie, on the other hand, she wasn't like her cousin at all. She was smart, witty, shy, and knew what was going on, whatever the circumstance.

"Oh great," Melanie sighed, also seeing her cousin, "That's 120 even detentions for her. My gosh, I wonder why you guys aren't expelled yet?"

Before the two can continue their conversation, Sarah popped up next to them, laughing. "Well, well, look what we have here! Don't tell me…James is having Lily trouble! And he's asking you for advice!"

"Um…no," Melanie and James replied, hastily, walking out of the garden.

Sarah looked on at them, a bit curiously, "Hey, anything the matter? We're supposed to be having fun here! Get back to the party!"

The three wizards went back and enjoyed the rest of the night, hardly remembering the event at the fountain. Lily came back to her normal self and although she was avoiding James, she was still enjoying herself. James didn't seem to notice and he found out that Rebecca had been enraged that she lost her bet, and so she was true to her word and didn't bother the Head Boy. At least, for that night.

As for Remus and Sarah, they were having the time of their lives, with Sarah zooming about in her broomstick, while Remus and Peter were chasing her, telling her to wait for them, and waving their wands like maniacs, trying to catch up. Sirius and Melanie kept on treading on people's toes as they waltzed around in the dance floor, grinning evilly as they spotted Snape and his partner (none other than Rebecca Ruppert). As they got closer, Sirius pulled his wand out and bewitched Snape's nose to grow longer, while Melanie charmed Rebecca's hair to disappear.

It was a night to remember…


	7. Chapter 6

_Rrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnng!_ Lily moaned as she heard her Muggle alarm go off. Slamming her hand to stop the alarm clock, the Head Girl opened her eyes. She saw blue eyes peering over her, and Lily jumped. "Melanie! Don't do that!"

Melanie laughed. "Yeah, I wouldn't have done that, Lily, if we weren't late for our first class…"

"Oh my goodness!" Lily cried out, sprinting into the bathroom and coming out ready. She ran and pulled Melanie with her, not caring whether or not Sarah was awake. The blonde turned over as well, trying to find out what time it was. She found out that she was late for class, too. Instead of sprinting towards the bathroom, she turned over and went back to sleep.

Lily and Melanie made it to their second class, which was Transfiguration, and they were late. Ms. McGonagall tapped her foot impatiently to hear an excuse from her two top students. "Well? Are you going to say something? And it better not be because of the Entrance Ball last night. Your friends already wasted that excuse."

The Head Girl turned to see that James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were yawning and muttering to each other at the back, trying to get some more shut eye. Melanie also saw them and stifled a small laugh. Instead, she turned to the teacher and smiled nervously. "Would you believe that we tried to wake Sarah up and drag her down here?"

"Hm…" McGonagall pondered out loud. "Well…that seems understandable. Sit down, ladies. That will be five points from Gryffindor, though."

Relief rushed over Lily, since she thought that her teacher might just give her detention. She plopped herself to a seat next to Sirius, who was now drooping his head on his girlfriend's shoulder. Remus elbowed his friend and everyone sat at attention as to what their professor was saying.

When they got to lunchtime, everyone regained their sense of what was going on. Sarah finally joined the rest of her friends, and the Marauders filled her in on what was happening. "Nothing new. James still doesn't know whether we'll be facing Beauxbaton or Durmstrang," Sirius grumbled, after stuffing some bread in his mouth.

"And I'm not getting any closer," James groaned. "Why didn't they just have the match now to get it over with? It will give me more time to sleep at least, having the comfort of knowing which school we're going against."

Frowning, Lily looked at them "What's wrong with not knowing? Get over it, Potter, it's time to face uncertainty."

Sirius muttered, "Yeah, well, it's not as if Beauxbaton stands a chance anyway. I hear Durmstrang's got a splendid Seeker and Keeper. Felicity and her team will have a hard time competing against Durmstrang."

Peter shook his head. "Isn't the match with Durmstrang and Beauxbaton in three weeks? Have they trained enough?"

"Of course they have, Wormtail," Remus replied, "The two rival teams have been using the Quidditch field as if it's their common room. I haven't seen a day when they are not there."

"Gee, Moony," Sarah commented, "Aren't you the observing type? What brought you into watching those people practice anyway?"

Remus shrugged. "It's better than studying for any of our subjects at the least."

Melanie gasped. "Which reminds me! Lily! We have Ancient Runes homework to do!"

Lily agreed and the two headed to the library, with Sirius and Sarah left in awe. Sirius was incredulous. "Don't they know that it's Saturday tomorrow? We have a whole weekend to relax!"

"You know those two," Sarah muttered, "The next thing you'll hear is Remus saying that he should go ahead and join them."

"Hey, I think I will," was Moony's suggestion.

James chuckled. Christopher Hoover rushed towards the Maurader's table. He was breathing a bit heavily, but he managed to speak up. "News is that Rebecca Ruppert will be taking one of the Quidditch positions! She's moved back to Beauxbaton!"

"WHAT?!" Sirius and James cried out, surprised. Sirius frowned. "That veela girl is virtually a Quidditch player too?! Preposterous!"

Peter nodded his head, familiar with the news. "I got that this morning. I can't believe I forgot about mentioning it to you. The Beauxbatons are erratic. They practically rejoiced when she joined their team. I'm guessing she's really good."

"That's not legal!" Sarah protested, "This is a Quidditch season here! She can't just join in and replace a fellow team member! Who is she replacing anyway?"

Chris pointed to one of the girls in Beauxbaton. "That girl Beater."

Sirius choked on his marmalade and sputtered out, "She's a Beater?! Oh no…now I'm completely doomed…"

The Head Boy stood up. "Well, then that just means that we should practice some more, shouldn't we? We'll start practice tomorrow, if you guys don't mind. Chris, tell Alisha, Cameron, and Lief if you can. We'll meet at the Quidditch field."

"You know, Prongs," Remus said, "You'll be overworking your whole team by the time your match comes up. Better be careful."

Lily was watching the practice from the bleachers, doing her homework and trying to observe the Gryffindor team at the same time. She sighed and watched James looking intently for the Golden Snitch. The wind blew around her and some of her papers flew about. With a wave of her wand, the papers came back to her hands and she continued with her homework. The Head Girl heard her name being called and she looked up. Melanie, Peter and Remus were at the bottom of the field, waving at her. She stood up and waved back. Lily gasped, as she felt some kind of force pushing her. She stumbled and fell, headlong towards the ground…50 feet from the air…

Melanie gave a horrified shriek and saw James zoom quickly towards the Head Girl. Lily had her eyes closed, and when she opened them, she was staring face to face with the Seeker, concern lined in his face. The Marauders rushed to James' side as he placed Lily gently on the ground. The Head Girl looked around her. Melanie hugged her friend. "Lily! You scared us half to death! We thought you were going to smack the ground with your head first!"

Lily frowned, then stared at James. "Strange, I felt something push me over…but I don't think I saw anyone at the stands…"

Remus turned to give his friend a hand, only to see that James was standing up, pale and looking angrily around. His eyes were filled with anger and another kind of emotion Sirius has never encountered in James before. The Head Boy looked down at Lily and turned his eyes to Sirius, who was also looking curiously at James. "Sirius, cancel the practice for me. I think we've had enough for the day anyway. I'll be in the dorms, you guys can meet me in an hour or so."

The Head Boy left without saying another word, to everyone's surprise. Peter shook his head. "He's probably upset. You know, the shock of seeing Lily fall…it was pretty odd, do you suppose someone tried to use magic to push her?"

"Yeah, you might be right, Peter," Sarah, said, a bit doubtfully.

Sirius and Remus nodded at each other and followed the path where their friend went to. They met James in the locker room, sitting in silence at the corner. Remus reached him first and clapped his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Hey, James, what's the matter?"

"It's nothing, Moony," James answered, revealing a blank expression, "Really, I'm fine."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure, we believe you. What's been eating at you? I've seen you face danger, and you didn't flinch a bit. But when you had to zoom through to rescue Lily? Come on, I know something's not right."

James muttered, "Look…I don't want to talk about it."

The Head Boy was dragged to the Gryffindor common room and into his dormitory, where he shared with Remus, Sirius, Peter, and two other guys. No one was there, and James was plopped on his bed. "What are you doing? Let me go, I need to hand out the flyers for the next Hogsmeade weekend!!"

"Melanie will take care of that," Sirius said, unemotionally, "As for you, old buddy, you aren't moving until you tell us what's going on."

"Yes," Remus agreed, "Please enlighten us, and we will let you down there as soon as possible."

The Head Boy sighed. "Will you promise not to tell anyone?"

Remus tilted his head, "This is really serious, isn't it?"

"I don't know, Remus," James said, almost stuttering, "Back there, when I saw Lily falling from a place that high, I…I don't know…something's wrong with me…"

Sirius whistled. "Wow, this is serious. James, don't you see? You love her! My goodness, how many people should tell you that you love her?"

James put his head on his hands. "Not to her…she's my friend. How can I love a friend?"

"Potter," Remus started, "You should tell her."

"I can't do just that!" James cried out, at the same time when Sirius cried out, "He can't do just that!"

The door burst open, revealing Lily, infuriated. "Come on! James, where have you been? We're supposed to be posting the next Hogsmeade weekend up!! What are you waiting for?"

The guys reluctantly followed the woman that had been the center of their conversation. Sirius and Remus watched James, who was careful not to keep in eye contact with Lily or his best friends. Somehow, he had to sort his own problems himself, and he didn't want anyone to interfere.

Peter stood watching close by, a small glint of fear and pain in his eyes. He turned to a figure beside him. "You said they wouldn't get hurt, Severus. You shouldn't have pushed her over."

"I didn't push her," was his nonchalant reply, "Rebecca was the one pointing her wand at the other side. Next time, Pettigrew, when I tell you to do something, you should go on ahead and do it. You still have an initiation to do for me…"

"When should that be?"

"I'll tell you when the time comes…"


	8. Chapter 7

The Marauders were hanging out in their common room, a bit bored. It was a Hogsmeade weekend, but they didn't feel like going that day. James and Remus were playing wizard chess while Sirius and Peter were betting on who was going to win. The girls sat around a table, playing a regular Muggle game of cards on their own. Another girl stepped in, smiling. "Zere you are, James!"

James moaned. "I thought I told you to leave me alone for the entire year if I won the bet! And how did you get in here anyway?"

"Of course you did, Potter," Rebecca grinned, mischievously, "But everything iz null and void when your friends helped you out. I repeat the conversation, _YOU _turn Miss Red Head to a princess, which means, zat it should have been you and only you to have done anything to help. Zo, our deal iz off, Potter."

Lily banged her cards on the table, a bit annoyed. "It would do a lot of help if you left right now. I have a card game here, and I can't concentrate with you whining all the time."

Sirius nudged his best friend. "Uh-oh, I think there's going to be some girl trouble over here."

"You're telling me," Remus whispered back, looking up from his chess game. "I say, why don't we settle this dispute somewhere else? Gryffindor students come in and out of here you know."

Rebecca glared at Moony, then turned her head back at Lily Evans. Lily was smiling gratefully at Remus. "That's a good idea, Remus, but, I think I'm going to have to say no to that. Miss Ruppert isn't worth my time and effort to actually have a fight with."

Melanie and Sarah watched Lily as she sat back down and took her turn in playing cards. Lily smiled triumphantly, "Oh, look, a full house!"

Something flew at Lily and tugged her hair…_hard._ "I'm not finished with you yet, Head Girl!"

"Okay, enough, Rebecca," James said calmly, pulling Rebecca with him outside. "You're coming along with me."

The girl gave a triumphant smile, which made Lily angry enough that she actually stopped James from taking Rebecca outside. The Head Girl took her wand out and pushed Rebecca through the door, in turn, telling the Fat Lady to change the password. After that little incident, she sat back down again, this time, not willing to play another game of cards. Sarah sighed. "Wow, that was a good one, Lil. I call that Head Girl Hissy Fit of the Year."

Lily glared at her. "That was not a hissy fit!"

"Oh, yeah, and you didn't just use your wand to ward off a Hogwarts student from entering the common rooms," Sarah said, rolling her eyes. "I mean, really, Lil, get a grip."

Sarah's cousin shrugged. "Hey, Rebecca had no right to come in here, anyway. After all, this is a Gryffindor common room. Who had the nerve to give her the password?"

Peter got up and went to check outside. He came back in, shaking his head. "She's gone, I think. Why don't you put things back to normal, Lil?"

"Are you kidding me?" Lily asked, "And let her back in the room? No."

James raised his wand and put everything right, to Lily's disappointment. She looked at him. "It looks like you don't mind it if she actually stuck by you for the rest of her life."

The Head Boy shook his head, softening. "No, Lil, you can't get in trouble because she made you angry. With your reputation and all, I wouldn't think that Professor McGonagall would be too happy about what you did."

It was a surprise to see Lily shrug about this event. The Lily Evans, not caring whether she got in trouble with the teachers? Remus threw up his hands. "First Potter, now Evans! My goodness! This must be a sign from above!"

"What are you talking about, first Potter?" Lily asked, curious, "He wouldn't care whether or not he's in trouble. Is there something else in your mind, Moony?"

Remus received two jabs from the stomach, one from James and the other from Sirius. Both shut Remus up, and Sirius blabbered out. "Oh, Remus meant nothing about that. Just hallucinating, that's all. He was probably talking about…the next Quidditch match! Yeah, that's it! About how he's working us to our deaths!"

Sarah and Lily looked at each other, puzzled. Melanie nodded, actually knowing what went on. The raven haired girl smiled. "Sirius, why don't you and Sarah play Quidditch for an hour or so?"

"Great idea, Mel!" James cried out, "I'll go with you guys!"

"YOU STAY HERE, POTTER!" Sirius, Remus, and Melanie cried out in unison.

James gulped and sat back down, astonished that they didn't want him to go with them. Melanie grabbed Sarah, and Sirius tugged on Peter, who had no idea what was going on. Lily watched as everyone left except for James and herself. She looked at James. "I wonder what made them do that?"

"I…I don't know either," James stuttered, for the first time, "Maybe because…I don't know."

Lily smiled, and stood up, sighing. "I think I should be heading to the library to study now. Tests are coming up, although you wouldn't care, because you don't seem to have a need to study."

The Head Boy followed her out of the common room. "I'll come with you. Maybe I could help you…um…study?"

"Why not?" Lily said, absentmindedly. She headed downstairs, followed by James, who looked around for signs of Rebecca. To his unfortunate circumstance, she showed up around the corner. "Zere you are, James! I knew you would come out zooner or later!"

Lily sighed and kept on walking, ignoring the girl and leaving James behind to be harassed. He looked to the direction Lily was walking towards and clamored after her, pushing students in his way and placing them in front of Rebecca, "Hey! Lil, wait for me!"

He ran up to her, not noticing that she was getting angry. Lily turned around. "Why don't you just let her go out with you already? Stop playing hard to get, Potter. It's not working for her!"

"What are you talking about?" James asked, confused. "You of all people should know that of all the females in Hogwarts, Rebecca Ruppert is the last person I would date. What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"

"Nothing," Lily shrugged, "I'm just a bit stressed, that's all. So, any word on Durmstrang? Are they winning?"

James nodded, "The last time I checked, it was a close call. I think Beauxbaton won by 10 points, though. Both Ruppert and Delacour seem to be determined players, from what I've seen. I wonder why you haven't been watching the last Quidditch match."

Lily shook her head, "It wasn't that exciting. I'm there to watch our house play, not the other two. Besides, we've got enough eyes and ears that are keeping track of who's winning. And…I don't seem to want to fall off the Quidditch stands like the last time…"

"Yes, that was a bit heart-wrenching…I mean…" the Head Boy hit himself for almost blabbing out his secret.

Lily listened to him and turned around, frowning. "Heart-wrenching? Since when did you consider saving me heart-wrenching? I only fell from about 50 feet. And there were 6 other Quidditch players who could have gone to my aid, if you weren't able to."

"I got there quickly enough, didn't I?" James asked.

"Well, yeah," Lily admitted, "You went in and out faster than everyone else, that's what I know. Must have been the adrenaline rush, huh?"

The Head Boy shook his head. "Call it whatever you want, Lil, it doesn't matter."

Outside, the rest of the Marauders were huddled around James' invisible cloak, looking out at their two friends. Sirius was leaning a bit too forward to try to listen to their conversation. "Come on, Potter! Make your move already!"

Sarah was also in the same state, "Tell her…tell her…"

"Tell him…tell him…" Melanie chanted, also in a trance.

Remus and Peter were trying hard not to laugh, and they were the only ones who managed to stir the others out of people's way. Peter was watching James and Lily, but he grew a bit envious. He really liked Lily as well, but he knew that he didn't have a chance now. She's set her heart out on James Potter, and he's all she wants. Too bad Potter didn't know about that either.

James and Lily turned around, hearing whispers in the distance. James narrowed his eyes and pointed to the Marauders' direction. The cloak flew off of them and landed on James' hand. He growled. "Sirius! You stole my cloak! What are you guys doing here?! I thought you were practicing Quidditch?!"

"Um…that's a good question, James," Sirius said, laughing nervously, "Very good question if you ask me."

"Actually, we've gotta run, you know," Sarah explained, grabbing Sirius' arm and Melanie's, "We have…detention to work out right now! See you people later!"

Peter and Remus looked at each other, and quietly slinked away. Remus shook his head and remained quiet, but Lily managed to corner Peter and drag him to where she and James were. Her green eyes gleamed. "Okay, Wormtail, spill. What were you guys doing there?"

"It's a long story, Lily," he stammered, until seeing James' glare, and he gulped, "But let's make it short. We couldn't use the Quidditch grounds and so we decided to spy up on you, especially when Sirius found the invisible cloak lying around."

James sighed, exasperated, "Okay, that's understandable."

Peter nodded, then scurried away. Remus looked curiously at James, who noticed that his friend was staring at him. "Why are you looking at me for?"

"Aren't you going to tell her, Prongs?" Remus asked, grinning. "Or maybe I should…seeing that you're so hesitant…"

"Don't think about it," James replied hastily, gritting his teeth in a smile. "Or else there will really be death in this school for sure. And this time it won't be because a basilisk came and turned that person to stone, Remus."

Remus gulped and remained silent again. Lily then grabbed Remus' collar. "Okay, what is this big secret that nobody is willing to tell me? Hmm? Come on, Remus, you're one of my best friends! You can't keep everything a secret from me!"

"Honestly," her friend answered, "I can, Lil. It just takes a little work, and a strong will…in which I have both to face your temper, my dear."

Lily growled, her eyes turning bright green. She choked Remus, and James couldn't help but laugh, although still wary that Remus might spill the secrets of his heart. To give his friend credit, Remus was true to his word, and didn't tell Lily Evans. This made the Head Girl angry, but it was soon forgotten as talk of the last Quidditch match came their way. Even Lily was caught up in it.

The Marauders were huddled in a little corner in the Great Hall, trying to hide James Potter from the eyes of Rebecca Ruppert, and trying to device another plan to sneak into Hogsmeade. Melanie yawned, bored. "Oh, geeze. So, when is this match going to take place today, James? Maybe we could sneak into Hogsmeade with your new map and get some butterbeer for celebration?"

"What makes you think we're going to win?" James asked, raising his eyebrows.

The girl shrugged. "Hey, we're winning by about 30 points, Prongs. What's going to happen if someone catches the Snitch besides you? You'll still be able to win if you've scored enough points to beat them."

He didn't argue, and went back to what he was doing, which was watching Lily, who was reading a book. Remus and Sirius saw his gaze and grinned. Sirius winked at Remus and whistled. Remus came closer to James and nudged him forwards, making James stumble into Lily, and her book dropped. She glared up, seeing Potter. "James! Will you be careful? I was getting to the exciting part!"

The Head Boy gulped, "S…sorry, Lil. I slipped, right, Remus?"

Remus looked at him innocently, "What do you mean by that, Potter?"

"Urgh…" James said, disgusted, "Will you guys quit it?"

"Quit what?" Sirius asked, trying to put an innocent face, while winking at Lily at the same time. "We're not doing anything to bother you, are we?"

Melanie frowned, "Cut it out, Sirius. You're not helping. Lily isn't the only one studying."

Sarah looked at her cousin. "Studying? What for? The finals aren't here until two months from now!"

"We like to start early," Lily and Melanie said in unison, then smiled at each other. 

The others groaned. James pulled out the Marauder's Map from his pocket and pointed his wand at the piece of parchment, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

The girls crowded around the map, interested. Sarah scowled, "Aww…you guys are no fun. You didn't let us help you out with making that?"

"That's because we thought of it way before you did," Sirius answered, "And, when we did ask you if you wanted to be a part of it, you guys said that you didn't want to be a part of too much trouble."

"Hey!" Sarah cried out, "I never said such a thing! That time, I was in detention!"

Peter chuckled. "That's alright, Sarah. It's not as if it's going to be that important. I mean, who could be as bad as the Marauders? I must admit, if this map will actually fall into the hands of tricksters like us, then I will have to eat my fingers."

Lily pointed curiously at the dots on the map. "Hey, I see Snape on the map, and he's coming closer to us, isn't he?"

"Oh my goodness!" Remus exclaimed, and Sirius quickly stood up, covering the map with his back. James quickly muttered something under his breath and the map emptied up of its contents.

The Head Girl smiled up at Snape, who was scowling. "What is it, Severus?"

Snape looked suspiciously at James, as the Head Boy was stuffing something in Remus' pocket. "Professor McGonagall informed me that the Gryffindor Quidditch team is to assemble in the field. You better hurry, Potter, or else you might get disqualified. I would really hate it if Hogwarts lost. It will surely make my life a much better place to live in. At least we can gloat on how much a bunch of sissy Beauxbatons beat you."

Rolling his eyes, Sirius smiled coldly, "Yes, well, we'll make sure to give your compliments to your girlfriend, Rebecca. I'm sure she'd love hearing about you're wonderful praises of her. Now, if you will leave us…maybe you could be useful and tell Professor McGonagall that we will be there in a few minutes?"

"Not even if you paid me to, Black," Snape snapped, cruelly, "I'm not your messenger. Why don't you?"

Sighing, Melanie stood up, "I'll do it, for goodness' sakes. Don't bother, Severus, I'll go. You can do whatever you were doing before you were rudely interrupted."

Melanie walked out, and Snape went the other way, followed by Peter, who wanted to talk to him earnestly. Remus raised his eyebrows. "Since when have Peter and Snape been buddies?"

"Since you were found out?" Sirius asked, then changed the subject, "Come on, James, we gotta warm up before you go down there, eh?"

James took a deep breath, as he climbed up to the Gryffindor common room. Lily, Sirius, Remus, and Sarah followed him to his room. The Head Boy sat down, deep in thought. "Hey, do you think we'll win it?"

Sirius rubbed his friend's shoulders, "Hey, don't worry, man, we've got it already. I can see it now…Potter catches the Snitch! Making that the most triumphant event ever to have occurred in Hogwarts since Godric's time!"

Lily sat next to him, placing her head on the post at the front of the bed. Her green eyes were sparkling with thought, and she closed her eyes to think. No one spoke at that time, with Remus and Sarah reading different books of spells while Sirius was pacing around the room. Even James kept silent, watching his friends, and his eyes usually went from Lily to Sirius and then back to the Head Girl. Suddenly, to James' utter surprise, Lily's eyes flew open, and she stared at him, smiling.

"I've got it!" Lily cried out, jumping out and bumping her head on the post. "Ouch…"

James stood up, concerned, "You okay?"

Nodding, Lily massaged her head and started to pace the room as well. Sirius stopped since the Head Girl was taking the space. "Let's see…yes, why not?"

"Will you please tell us what you've come up with?" Sarah asked, cross, and holding the book titled Curses and Counter Curses. "It would really help if Remus and I weren't looking for certain useful spells to defend ourselves from the Beauxbaton's cheating…if they actually were…"

The Head Girl laughed, "You thought I was going to help you people? I must say, your practices were very rigorous, and I rather think you could pull it off without any of my help. What do I know about Quidditch anyway? I was thinking of getting us some butterbeer, that was all. We are going to celebrate, James, no matter what happens, so don't worry. Gryffindor Quidditch team definitely has my support."

Sirius collapsed on the bed, moaning. "You mean to tell me, you're not even going to try and help your best friend win? Not even one bit?"

Lily blushed, "He's not the best of friends with me, Sirius. No offense, James."

"None taken," James shrugged, relieved that at least she didn't think of him as only a best friend. "That's alright, Sirius, we can manage. Hey, we better head down there, it's been quite a long time since we were told to head on down to the Quidditch field. Wish us luck, you guys."

Remus raised an eyebrow. "You don't need luck, Prongs. Trust me, you don't need it."


	9. Chapter 8

Down at the Quidditch field, crowds of students gathered around to watch the final match to determine the champion Quidditch team of Hogwarts, Beauxbaton, and Durmstrang. Lily was pale, and was holding the support of Remus, who was a bit uncomfortable with a girl dragging him down. "Calm down, Lil, it's not as if they have to fight a dementor or anything that dangerous."

"Oh, but maybe he is. What if Beauxbaton had something up their sleeves?" Lily replied, pointing at shadows lurking in the corners.

Melanie chuckled, "Oh, come on, Lily, you don't believe that Sirius, Sarah, and James are going to wimp out on a dementor, do you?"

Lily nodded, "You're right. They'll be fine."

Her best friend smiled, "Look, we have seats in the front. Courtesy of Sam and Samantha, of course, our favorite Ravenclaw-Gryffindor twins."

"Yeah," Remus grinned, "A better view of Prongs breaking his jaw from smacking the ground after catching the Snitch."

He received a jab in the stomach from Lily, who glared at him. They reached the empty seats. Melanie looked around, puzzled. "Where's Peter?"

Making sure that Lily remained seated, Remus muttered, "Probably still with greasy Snape. You know how much he admires Severus. If you ask me, I think Peter's been hiding things from us."

"Oh, come on, guys," Melanie retorted, "He's probably trying to suck up to Snape, because of, you know, last year. To get at his good side."

"What would you know about his good side?" Lily snapped back, standing up, "He's all bad if you ask me, I mean, he's in Slytherin, and everyone knows that when you're housed in Slytherin, you're a bad wizard. Look at Voldemort, and his followers. They were all in Slytherin."

Melanie pulled Lily's arm and forced her to sit. "Okay, you brought your point up, now, sit down. Look, Sam is going into the podium. He's about to announce the teams and start the game."

Sure enough, Samuel pointed a wand to his throat and muttered something inaudible. When he began to open his mouth again, his voice was heard all the way to the other side of the field. "STUDENTS OF HOGWARTS, BEAUXBATON AND DURMSTRANG! THIS IS THE MOMENT WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR! THE FINAL MATCH! THE ONE MATCH TO END ALL MATCHES! THE BIG ONE! THE—"

"We get your drift, Mr. Donovan, please get on with the proceedings!"

"MAKE WAY FOR OUR TWO QUIDDITCH TEAMS ABOUT TO FACE OFF! HERE'S BEAUXBATON! LED BY SEEKER DELACOUR AND THE NEW BEATER, REBECCA RUPPERT! THIS IS A GREAT TURN OF EVENTS, FOLKS! FOR MISS RUPPERT HAD TRANSFERRED TO HOGWARTS NOT VERY LONG AGO…" he stopped when Professor McGonagall was glaring at him and continued on with the other team, "AND…HOGWARTS IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THEIR GRYFFINDOR HOUSE TEAM! CHAMPIONS AMONG CHAMPIONS NO MATTER WHAT THE OUTCOME! JAMES POTTER RIDING IN THE LEAD!"

James looked over his shoulder at his Quidditch team, and smiled nervously. Alisha and Sirius were behind him, their bats ready and their faces serious. The Seeker flew over to them and brought his team together. "Okay, I know I'm not very good with these speeches, but I just wanted to tell you guys that it's been a pleasure playing with you all. No matter what, we have the greatest Quidditch team I have ever come up with. Two absolutely aggressive Beaters that haven't yet let anyone get hit with a Bludger…"

Sirius and Alisha smiled, while James continued talking, "Our Chasers are the fastest and the craftiest I've seen…"

"Aww…James, stop, you're making me blush," Sarah said, while Cameron giggled, and Chris nodded, concentrating.

"And a promising Keeper who I'll be naming Captain when Sirius, Sarah, and I leave this year," he said at last.

Lief beamed at him and turned pink, "I wouldn't call my blunders promising, but if you say so…"

"And what about our unbeatable Seeker, huh? Who can't forget how many times Potter has won the game for us? Cheers for James Potter!" Sirius cried out heartily.

"Alright, then, since we've got all of us, it doesn't matter whether Beauxbaton tries their best, because they haven't practiced every bloody day like we did, even in the grueling rain. So what do we say, Gryffindor?!"

"LIONS GO!" the team cried out and flew into their positions, soaring into the air.

Melanie watched Sirius, who was trailing Rebecca, frowning at her from behind. Sirius' girlfriend bristled, and Lily saw this. The redhead patted her best friend's shoulder. "Hey, not with this envy again, okay? Sirius and the others are too serious at the moment to think of hitting on anyone, letting alone with the other team. And haven't you and Sirius made up?"

Lily's friend sighed and sank into her seat. "You know, you can never tell with him, what he's going to do. I wouldn't be surprised if he smashes that Bludger into someone's face."

"Don't say that," Remus scolded her, "I don't want to remember what he did last year…"

The three looked at each other and nodded, going back to the game, where they saw Cameron throw the Quaffle into one of the hoops, scoring ten points to Gryffindor. Melanie jumped up and screamed out with delight. "Go Gryffindor! Come on! You can do it!"

Remus laughed. "At this rate, Melanie, we'll be needing a cheerleading squad for each house. You guys scream so loud!"

"OH! TRISTAN LOMBARD GIVES US A MAGNIFICENT BLOCK! SORRY, CAMERON, BETTER TRY NEXT TIME! AND ZERAH'S GOT THE QUAFFLE…ONTO JAMAIS…THERE HE GOES! NO! I MEAN…ER…HE SCORES TEN POINTS FOR HIS TEAM! WAY TO GO!" Sam said, a bit unwilling with his last sentence. "WATCH OUT, ALISHA, BLUDGER COMING YOUR WAY! NICE BAT!"

The Bludger soared away and Rebecca chased after it, her face blank and focused on the Bludger. Lily muttered under her breath, "What got her goose? Why is she speeding after a Bludger?"

Before anyone could answer her question, the blonde veela-like young lady swung her bat and aimed the Bludger out at James, who was not paying attention to the game at all, concentrating on the Snitch. He didn't see the Bludger coming his way, and neither did Sam, who was watching the Chasers. Remus jumped from his seat and started to wave his hands, screaming his head off. "JAMES!! BLUDGER!"

James managed to look back, but he didn't have the speed to turn around in time. He closed his eyes and waited for the collision…but nothing happened. He heard a _THWACK!_ and reopened his eyes, to see Sirius taking a deep breath. His best friend smiled at the Seeker. "I've been trailing that Ruppert girl to see if she would be doing anything funny."

"Thanks, Sirius, you saved my life back there," the Head Boy said weakly, "If that had hit, I would have let it take me down 50 feet."

"Nonsense, what about your awe inspiring speech?"

"GREAT SAVE SIRIUS BLACK! HE MANAGED TO OUTMANEUVER AN ONCOMING BLUDGER TOWARDS JAMES POTTER, OUR MOST VALUABLE PLAYER IN THE FIELD AT THIS MOMENT! IT SEEMS THAT WITH BLACK AND POTTER ON THE FIELD, NOTHING WILL STOP THEM! AN INSEPARABLE TEAM!"

Sirius shook his head, "Sam forgot to mention the fact that I would have jumped in front to save you from that Bludger."

"Hey, watch your back, too," James chuckled, "BEHIND YOU!"

The Beater swung his bat to stop another oncoming Bludger coming their way. Frowning, Sirius decided to stay near James, in case someone like Rebecca would decide to throw something besides a Bludger their way. Remus slumped to his seat, exhausted. "This game is taking energy from me as well…"

Sam Donovan continued to scream out to the spectators. "ARGH! WHY HAVE I BEEN SO DISTRACTED?! LOOKS LIKE BEAUXBATON IS IN THE LEAD WITH 70 POINTS UP! HOW HORRIBLE! THIS IS DEGRADING! WHAT IS HAPPENING?!"

Sarah managed to score once until a Bludger knocked her over, almost falling out of her broom, if not for Chris, who helped her back on the broomstick. She moaned and felt her head. The blonde growled. "Okay, that's it, if they're going to play rough, it's time to show them the true colors of Sarah Morran…"

"Sarah! Catch it!" Cameron screamed, throwing the Quaffle out at her.

Another Bludger came about, and Sarah cursed, getting out of the way. "Where in bloody hell did those things come from?! It's as if we've got too many Bludgers let loose around here!"

Melanie muttered the same suggestion to Lily, who looked around in earnest, trying to find out whether or not her friends were safe. She saw Sarah dodge another Bludger and score another ten points. Remus, getting too anxious, opened up the map inside his sleeve. He watched his friends flying about in different directions, with Sirius and James pairing up together. The young man frowned. Melanie was right…there were more than four Bludgers floating about… "Lily, there are 7 Bludgers in play, and they seem to be coming from over at the Slytherin side…"

The Head Girl turned her head towards Slytherin, and realized that Snape was letting out Bludgers like a madman. The Slytherins didn't seem to care, they were enjoying it too much. Lily stood up in rage and stomped her way over to where Snape was seated, her wand out and ready to be used. "SEVERUS SNAPE! YOU STOP THAT NOW! EXPELLIARMUS!"

Snape's wand flew from his hand, and the Slytherins glared at her with more than anger in their faces. One of Snape's friends was about to grab her, but Remus and Melanie were there by her side, wheeling her back to her seat. She was still holding Snape's wand, and was thinking about snapping it in two when Melanie discouraged her about it. "The Bludgers have stopped coming now. And Sam's brought the attention about them to Madame Hooch. She's already gotten rid of all of them except the two that are supposed to be there. So calm down, Lil."

"WHAT'S THAT?! OH MY GOODNESS! IT'S THE SNITCH! THE SNITCH HAS BEEN FOUND! NO!! WHERE DID IT GO?! COME ON, POTTER! GOTTA CATCH IT BEFORE DELACOUR DOES!"

Professor McGonagall yelled, "SAMUEL! BE UNBIASED WILL YOU?!"

Sam wasn't left any time to apologize when he saw something that made him scream ever the more louder, "WAIT…WHAT IN THE BLOODY WORLD IS HAPPENING?! SIRIUS AND JAMES, HOLD ON! SOMEONE'S PLACED A HEX ON THEM!"

James and Sirius were in the air, hanging onto their precious lives as their broomsticks were moving about wildly, unable to be controlled. Sarah watched in horror, and she glimpsed in the corner of her eyes that Felicity was diving towards something small and golden…Without warning, Sarah shot towards the Snitch as well, gaining speed and not caring whether or not she would smack into anyone. The blonde Chaser stretched her hands and grappled Felicity, pushing her away from the Snitch and into the outer court of the Quidditch field. Felicity gave out a frustrated shriek and started clawing at Sarah, who tried to untangle herself from the wild Seeker.

Madame Hooch blew her whistle, yelling for them that a foul was being committed and she called for a time-out. It was beginning to be a very grueling Quidditch match, and more than half of the Gryffindor Quidditch team was bruised with some kind of injury. Sarah's face was disheveled and a small gash was on her arm, obviously from Felicity, who had scratched her. Chris examined the cut and burned with anger. "Some nerve she's got…scratching you…Madame Hooch should have called a foul shot for that, too."

"I'm okay, Chris," Sarah said, leaning on Sirius, who was gasping for breath, apparently tired, "It was nothing. At least I stopped her from getting the Snitch."

Lief frowned. "I don't get it. I was watching, and I don't get how the broomsticks were acting that way."

Lily, Melanie, and Remus barged in, with Melanie rushing towards Sirius, bursting into tears. "I thought you were going to die!"

"Hey, Mel," Sirius softened, flinching a bit as she hugged him tightly, "This is no time to feel sentimental for me, okay? James and I are fine. Though that thing did give me a scare…"

The Head Girl glanced worriedly at James, who closed his eyes and leaned on one of the lockers, clutching his completely broken glasses in one hand. Lily sat down next to him and forced him to give her his glasses. Her green eyes looked down upon it and sighed. "I had the assumption that you guys would be fine. But this…?"

Lief shook his head, bandaging Cameron's shoulder. "Yes, but we completely had no idea that such people would go on about with tactics like this! It's as if Slytherin is helping them out…"

"Whoever said they weren't?" Remus spoke out, shaking his head, "Lily found Snape throwing more Bludgers into the Quidditch field. How he got to them, I have no clue, but there were more Bludgers in the game than in a regular match. No wonder you guys had to dodge it almost every turn you make. But I wonder who hexed the broomsticks…?"

Melanie was still sniffing into Sirius' shirt and looked up, her blue eyes flashing with more anger than concern, "If I find out, that person will terribly pay…"

Sarah was looking at her cousin with a grin. "Hey, that was my line. Watch it, cousin, you're becoming like me everyday…"

Sirius looked on helplessly as the raven-haired beauty continued to clutch at him. James couldn't help but chuckle at the situation. He turned towards Lily, who was still playing with his glasses, her mind elsewhere. The Seeker reached for her hand and tried to pry the glasses from her. The red head jumped and looked at James, coming back into reality. She blinked and tapped her wand towards the glasses, muttering a small charm and handed the glasses back to its owner. "I'm sorry, I was a bit…preoccupied."

"Come on, are you guys okay?" James asked his Quidditch team.

They looked up at him, filled with determination and fury. Cameron nodded. "I might have a limp arm, but that doesn't stop me, James. We'll pound them."

Lief nodded. "James, I think now is the time to put our last formation into action."

James agreed. "Okay, guys, here's the new plan. The Snitch is out. All we need is to get the Snitch and the game is ours. Alisha, Cameron, and Chris, you stay near Lief and help him in blocking the other side from making any more points. Sirius and Sarah, you come with me, and try to keep Felicity in check. Got it? For now, it's a defensive strike."

Remus nodded with approval, "Good strategy. Couldn't give you any better myself. Come on, Lil, Mel, we better go back to our seats."

Lily smiled at her friends. "Hey, be careful out there. We'll make sure not another hex touches any of you guys."

Melanie nodded, also brightening, "And whoever is trying to bewitch you, they forgot that the smartest and craftiest people around Hogwarts are the Mauraders themselves. They'll be paying for what they've done."


	10. Chapter 9

The Gryffindor Quidditch team came back into their positions, more motivated than before. After one of the Beauxbaton Chasers took the foul shot for Felicity (which was met with a spectacular block from Lief), everyone went into their formations. Sarah and Sirius went on both sides of James, who was looking for the Snitch.

"AH! HERE WE HAVE THE GRYFFINDOR SPECIAL DEFENSE TACTIC! IT HAS ALWAYS WORKED BEFORE! WILL IT WORK NOW, DO YOU THINK?! NO DOUBT! MORRAN AND BLACK ARE WITH OUR SEEKER, PROTECTING HIM FROM ANY DANGERS AND KEEPING OUR BEAUXBATON SEEKER IN CHECK AS SHE IS ALSO LOOKING FOR THE SNITCH!" Sam cried out, refreshed and bent on watching each and every Gryffindor move. "AT LIEF'S SIDE IS ALISHA, CHRIS, AND CAMERON, READY TO DEFEND THEIR GOAL POSTS, WITH LIEF AT THE MIDDLE! HOW WILL BEAUXBATON CHASERS MANAGE THROUGH THIS NOW?!"

Felicity growled. She stopped in front of Potter, glaring at him. "I take back on what I said from before. Thiz iz ze worst way to play a Quidditch game, Potter."

Sarah glared back. "Well, I haven't seen such tactics as yours, either, Miss Delacour. Or, haven't you forgotten the scratch you just gave me a few minutes ago?"

"And the Bludgers?! CARE TO EXPLAIN THAT?!" Sirius cried out, adding fuel to the fire. "OH, AND I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU WOULD KNOW ABOUT THE HEXES ON OUR BROOMS, DO YOU?!"

The blonde Seeker turned away. "I have no idea what you're talking about. But if you want to keep every bone in your body, zen I suggest you back away now…you don't know what'll happen next…"

"BRING IT ON!" Sarah shrieked, ready to throw herself at the Seeker, if James hadn't held her back. The Beauxbaton Seeker flew out of their way, flying about in search of the Snitch, now desperate.

James looked at Sarah, alarmed. "Er…Sarah, calm down, you're scaring me…and you're scaring Sirius…"

His best friend was nodding his head, inching away from the angered blonde Chaser, who was now glaring at him. "Ehehe…Sarah, I think we should focus now on the Snitch…"

Lily and Melanie were clutching onto Remus, who was having a hard time breathing. He pushed them away and held the Maurader's Map up nervously. "They're getting nowhere fast. I think I spot the Snitch…it's hovering right above Lief's area…"

"JAMES!! THE SNITCH! OVER AT LIEF!" Melanie decided to cry out, flinging her arms and jumping madly.

The Head Girl scanned the area, trying to find one witch or wizard out of the ordinary. She saw someone clad in Slytherin uniform but with a hood over his face. She frowned and tugged on Remus. He looked at her curiously. "Remus, I think I see a suspicious person over at Slytherin again." 

Melanie turned to the direction Lily had been gazing in and frowned. "Yes, I do see what you mean. Do you think we should check it out?"

Remus shook his head. "Whatever it is, I'm staying here. If someone tried to hex James, Sirius, or Sarah, I'll be here to mutter a countercurse or something. You guys investigate."

Shortly after Lily suggested heading towards the Slytherin area, a loud scream can be heard from Sam, who jumped up and down. "THERE THEY GO! POTTER AND DELACOUR HAVE FOUND THE SNITCH AND ARE HEADING STRAIGHT TOWARDS IT! WHO WILL GET THERE FIRST?! WILL IT BE LIKE THE LAST TIME?! COME ON, POTTER! WIN IT FOR US!"

Sarah and Sirius took no chances either. They flew alongside their Seeker and headed straight towards the Snitch. It became a horrid sight for the spectators, as they found out that every player was going in the same direction. Rebecca managed to wheel a Bludger into the area, and hit Cameron on her uninjured arm. One of the Beauxbaton Chasers was wildly scratching Chris, and nobody could hear Madame Hooch's whistle. Even Sam and Professor McGonagall were too angered at the sight to interfere. Finally, out of the hustle and bustle of blue and red uniformed bodies came two people flying out. The two Seekers were still at it.

James looked over his shoulder and caught a sight of long flowing blonde hair, which could only be Felicity. He pushed his body onto his beloved broomstick and put his hand out. The Snitch was so close…but so was Felicity. The blonde looked on with a triumphant smile as she began to close her palms into the golden object…

_THWACK!_ came another Bludger, knocking Felicity out of the way. James pushed forward and threw both hands out, clutching the Snitch and cradling it in his hands as he flew headlong into the Quidditch stands, straight for the Gryffindor section. Lily, Melanie, and Remus immediately rushed to him when he collided into the seats, emptied a few seconds before to make way for the successful Seeker. The whole of Hogwarts went wild with joy, and Madame Hooch no longer wanted to call a foul, as the game was over. James Potter had caught the Snitch, and Hogwarts won the International Quidditch Tournament. It was all over…

Lily looked up and saw that Sirius was hugging Sarah tightly, while Cameron cried uncontrollably on Lief's shoulder. Melanie bent down to retrieve the Snitch from James and held it high. She threw it over to Sirius, who showed it to the whole of Hogwarts, making the crowds cheer and holler until their voices died down after minutes of excitement. The Head Girl sat herself next to James, who breathed heavily, eyes closed. "That was spectacular, Prongs. One of the best catches yet."

"Thanks…" was all he could say at the moment, as he was carried towards the Gryffindor common room, where a party was being set up.

Remus smiled, overjoyed that they had fun. However, he looked around, trying to find out who on earth was dressed in a cloak. The figure had gone, and most of Slytherin were already filing into their own common room, grumbling and muttering about the victory.

By the time James got into the common room, his Quidditch team members swept him up again and dragged him out of the party, and into the Head Boy and Girl office. That was where Lily and Melanie were found, holding bottles and bottles of butterbeer. The team sat around, drinking and merrymaking.

"To James, for catching the Snitch after a painful ordeal of scratches and bites," Sirius said aloud, holding his butterbeer up, grinning widely.

Chris Hoover also held up his butterbeer, "To all of us, for keeping our cool and not literally killing any of the Beauxbaton students!"

"And to Sirius," Sarah laughed, "For smacking that Bludger into Felicity Delacour right before she could grab the Snitch! Ah…what a wonderful night!"

Melanie lightly punched Sirius on the shoulder, "You did that? I can't believe I missed it!"

Sirius smiled. "All for you, Mel."

The group chuckled as the raven haired student turned beet red. Cameron was still wincing as they clinked their glasses with her. Chris frowned. "Why don't you go to Madame Pomfrey to have your arm fixed?"

"Because I don't want to miss in on the fun," was her retort. "When I get a headache tomorrow, that's when I'll complain. Or, have you forgotten, we aren't exempt from any final exams going on tomorrow?"

Everyone groaned, except Remus, Melanie, and Lily, who looked at them calmly. Remus smiled. "At least we know Professor McGonagall will take it easy on you."

James lay back, trying to get comfortable on the couch. He bumped into Lily and winced. "Ahh…I think I should be going to the hospital wing…"

"Perhaps you should," Sarah replied wittily, nudging Melanie. "And perhaps we should all get to bed, right? Come on, guys…"

Her raven haired cousin frowned, and then widened her eyes, blue pools glittering with guile. "Yes, I do suppose you're right. After all, exams are tomorrow, and I wouldn't want to sleep in. Come on guys, oh, and James, I suggest you bring yourself to the hospital wing."

Cameron began to stand up, "I'll go along with him."

"NO!" the rest of the Mauraders cried out, startling her and the rest of the Quidditch team. Remus shook his head, "What we mean to say is…James should go to the hospital wing and see what's wrong with him. Cameron, I think you should go later on."

The fifth year looked at him curiously. She didn't understand, until, of course, she saw Sirius and Sarah pointing at the Head Girl and Head Boy. Then Cameron pulled Chris over to her. "Okay, fine, Chris. I'm holding you responsible for bringing me to the common room."

"Why me?" Chris whined.

"BECAUSE."

"Hey, I'll go with you," Lily said, also getting up and cleaning the office, "Sirius, I think you should go and bring your friend to the wing. He won't be able to get there by himself, you know."

Sirius chuckled, "Whoever said I would bring him there? Why don't you?"

Before Lily could answer, everyone dashed out of the room, as quickly as lightning. Even Cameron managed to sprint out, accidentally bumping her arms by the doorway, causing her to yelp in anguish. The poor Gryffindor fifth year vanished along with the rest of the team. The Head Boy and Girl looked at each other, both with the same thoughts in their heads, _Why on earth did they do that?_

Lily shrugged, and headed for the door. "I suppose I should accompany you to the hospital wing? Or would you like to be alone?"

"Er…I…" For once James Potter was at a loss for words, "Um…"

The red head pulled him up, and ignored his protest as the two of them bounded towards Madame Pomfrey. The Gryffindor Seeker tried to keep up, but due to his Quiddditch game, he could only manage a small walk. Lily let him go and watched as he tried to keep himself up, but failed. With another slight moment, the Head Boy almost crashed to the floor, if Lily hadn't caught him in time. She shook her head, "You gave it your all, didn't you?"

"What else would you expect?" he answered in a half-hearted grin, "Quidditch is a passion. I guess I'm just exhausted, and bruised, that's all."

Green eyes sparkled with amusement. The Head Girl helped James to the hospital wing, where Madame Pomfrey tutted and tsked about the Seeker's condition. She ran about getting some medicine as Lily sat by James' bedside, waiting for any commands the nurse would give her to help. James sat on the bed and looked quizzically at his friend. "Why are you still here? You have an exam tomorrow."

The Head Girl smiled. "You've forgotten, Potter. I'm Head Girl. I've already studied enough to pass the exam weeks ago. It's no big deal. However, you…"

"Oh, I've got it all in my head," James said proudly, pointing his finger at the side of his forehead, "It's all in there somewhere."

Lily chuckled, "You haven't changed, Prongs."

"But you have," James said silently, so that only the two of them could hear his words, "And for the better, I might add."

She blushed. A small tingle went up her spine and Lily shivered. The Head Girl didn't see James put his arms around her to warm her up until she felt his warm touch. Eyes of emerald green opened widely as she glanced surprisingly at the young man with glasses. Instead of pushing him away, she relaxed in his arms and buried her head in his chest, still smelling the crisp odor of the Quidditch field. "Erm…I think maybe you should let go of me before Madame Pomfrey comes in and sees us like this. It wouldn't be a pretty sight, you know."

James laughed. "So what? Besides, I think I've used up my last strength doing that."

"Really, James, why'd you do that for?" Lily frowned and pushed him away, forcing him to lie down on the hospital bed. "Honestly, you'll never get any rest doing that. I think I should be going, though. Like you said, I do need to rest up for my exams tomorrow."

Before she could fully bring herself to stand, she felt his hand grasp her wrist. "Hey, Lil, are you mad at me?"

The Head Girl paused, "Why should I be?"

He shrugged. "I don't know."

"Good night, Potter," Lily said, gently pushing his hand away.

Gryffindor's Seeker pulled the Head Girl down and he pressed his lips on her cheek, then let go, winking, "That's a thanks for your continuous help on behalf of everyone…and me, of course."

Again, Lily turned the color of her hair. She let out a chuckle and left the room, running to her dormitory. She came in, unawares that Melanie, Sarah, Cameron and Alisha were ready for her story. Melanie got to her first, and pounced on her best friend. "Lily! So nice to finally talk to you, dear friend!"

Melanie's blonde cousin also bounded up to her, "So, how'd it go?"

"How'd what go?" Lily asked, suspicious.

Cameron giggled at her, "You know, you and Potter. We know something's been up with you two since forever!"

"Melanie! Sarah!" the Head Girl cried out, a bit flustered, "What makes you think there was anything between us?!"

Blue eyes sparkled, laughter and delight brightening Melanie's features, "Why, we actually only had some idea about it. Until, of course, when we saw you two in the hospital wing…"

"Mel! You weren't supposed to divulge that secret!" Sarah yelled, grabbing her cousin and clamping her hand on the raven haired's mouth.

Alisha was at the door, trying to keep them from screaming so loud, nervous that Professor McGonagall might come in and take off points from Gryffindor. She glared at the struggling cousins and sighed. "If you really want to know, Lily, Sarah and Melanie went with Sirius, Remus, and Peter into the hospital wing a few seconds ago."

"They ran up here, panting and whispering like mad, telling us that you were coming up," Cameron added, "And they said something about you and James…"

"Which is true, by the way, so you can't deny it," Sarah pointed out, still holding her cousin on the bed. "And by tomorrow, the both of you will never be left alone."

Lily gave them a look of daggers, and she sat on her bed. "So, you people were spying on me, huh? Well, that's not very excusable. And Cameron, I thought you needed to have Madame Pomfrey look at your arm?"

The Qudditch Chaser shrugged. "I'm too tired, and I would probably feel a bit uncomfortable in a room with James Potter, after hearing about the er… hookup."

"WHOEVER SAID WE HOOKED UP?!"

"Lil! It's lights out! Go to sleep! We'll talk about this in the morning!" Melanie said, as she finally escaped Sarah's grasp. "Or did you forget, exams?"

Sarah chuckled. "Of course she'd forget! She was too preoccupied with our dear Prongs to remember!"

If Professor McGonagall had gone up to the room to check, she would have found two giggling fifth years and two seventh year cousins who were frustrating an already confused Head Girl. The professor would have commanded them to go to bed, and would have deducted points from Gryffindor house. Fortunately, no teacher was there to deduct any points or to reprimand the girls from sleeping that night. It was all thanks to Sirius, Remus, and Peter, whose room made much more noise than the girls'. The professor was quick and alert in hearing the Gryffindor boys when trouble was at hand.


	11. Chapter 10

Sirius yawned, tired. Ever since the night before, he's been nothing but out of shape. He looked at Remus, who was munching away happily on a tart. "Aren't you even a bit tired, Moony?"

"Why should I be?" Remus asked, grinning, "I wasn't the one who flew about swinging Bludgers at people."

"I didn't purposely swing at anyone," Sirius snapped.

Melanie laughed. "Now, now, Padfoot, don't lose your temper too easily. I understand you haven't had any sleep last night, but neither have I. I don't think any of us has gotten any sleep, save Remus, Peter, and Sarah, of course. But I wonder where James and Lily went to?"

"We're right here, Mel," Lily said, laughing. She was smiling, and the Marauders were very surprised to see…her hair falling loosely at her back.

Even Sirius was astonished. "Lil, whoa, what happened to you?"

Sarah nudged him, "Aw…don't you see? She's a changed woman! There's the face of the real Lily Evans!"

"Honestly, Sarah," Lily retorted, "I was just too tired to fix it, that's all."

James shrugged and sat next to Sirius, who was still looking wide-eyed. "Potter, is this what I think it is? Have you finally told her? And we, the Marauders, missed it?"

The Head Boy and Girl looked at each other, and they both nodded. Sirius groaned, "I didn't even have a camera!"

"But even if you did," Melanie pointed out, "You wouldn't have been able to use it."

"Why not?"

Lily and Melanie looked at each other and grinned. Melanie began, "Well, that's because in Hogwarts: A History, it says that the school grounds are quite foolproof from Muggle things like that."

The Head Girl continued, "And, in conclusion, video cameras are out of your things to bring in Hogwarts grounds."

"Ah, yes, I have read that," Remus answered, remembering.

Sarah moaned. "Will you guys quit with all this knowledge? We already took the exams this morning, we don't need to learn anymore."

"I agree with her," Sirius muttered, getting a scowl his way from Melanie. "Okay, okay, Melanie, I was listening."

James sighed, "My question is…since we're graduating, what are all of you going to do?"

Remus shrugged. "I don't know. Teach Defense Against the Dark Arts in Hogwarts?"

"I got an application for a team in Ireland," Sarah beamed, "They want me in the Quidditch league. Didn't you get one, Potter?"

The Head Boy nodded, "Yeah, but I don't know."

Sirius was whistling. "I don't know what I'm going to do, either. Probably just waste away, doing odd jobs. Or…I could always make my own joke shop and make money off of that. Besides, what do I gotta worry about? Melanie will be making enough money for both of us, since she's going to be an Auror, aren't you?"

Everyone turned to her, and she blushed. "Well…I do want to become an Auror. At least, I could hunt down the ever rising Voldemort…. And whoever said I was giving you any money?"

"Ooh, dangerous," Lily said, nodding, "Good for your kind of work. You practically know what's going on anyway."

Peter, who finally found himself a seat near Remus, sighed. "I might just end up as someone from the Ministry of Magic if you ask me.

Sirius frowned, "What about you, Lil? What are you going to be?"

The Head Girl held herself up high and smiled mysteriously. "Oh, who knows. I passed all my tests…now all they need to do is file my application, and wait."

"James," Sarah looked at him suspiciously, "Any offers from the Ministry of Magic?"

The Head Boy nodded, "Yeah. But like I said, I don't know."

Sarah suddenly grinned, "But why are we worrying about our careers anyway? We all know we've got it made one way or the other. The only question we're supposed to be discussing is: who's going to get married first?"

"That's none of your business!" Lily and Melanie cried out, while the others laughed.

Remus raised his eyebrows. "What are you talking about, Sarah dear? Any plans on who's going first?"

Peter laughed. "I bet it's going to be Melanie and Sirius."

"Oh no," Melanie protested, blushing, "You're not betting on that kind of situation."

James laughed. "I second that bet."

Sirius made a face. "Well, you're both going to lose the bet, because I bet against you. Potter and Evans will go first."

"Very funny," Lily spoke up, "We haven't even dated just yet, Padfoot, it's not going to happen. Now, can we change the subject?"

"Alright, since you're all so very well refreshed, I did want to know something," Remus said, "What happened in the match yesterday, James? You and Sirius were hexed, do you have any idea on who it could be? It obviously was a Slytherin, from the robes."

Sirius, Sarah, and James all looked at each other. The Beater frowned, "How can you be sure it wasn't Snape? You know how much he's been dying to have us killed after last year…well, after any year, really."

Lily refuted that suggestion, "It couldn't be Severus. I saw the cloaked figure and he or she was further off from where Severus was found. It couldn't possibly be him."

Peter's ears perked up, interested, "What cloaked person?"

"Right, you weren't there," Melanie realized, "Well, to tell a long story short, while the Quidditch match was going on, someone had hexed Sirius' and James' brooms into throwing them off. Lily saw a cloaked figure from the Slytherin area who appeared to be fixing his eyes on Sirius and James. By the time we got there, he already disappeared."

"Oh my," Peter cried out, turning pale, "And you guys got out alright?"

They nodded, a bit grim. James plopped his head on the Gryffindor table. He yawned. "I hope Professor Trelawny doesn't go on and predict anyone's misfortune today. Especially when we're taking a test. I wouldn't be able to take it."

"Hey, it's gonna be okay," Remus said reassuringly, "After this, school is all over for us."

James' best friend glanced at Peter, "Say, Wormtail, where were you during the Quidditch match? Don't tell me you locked yourself up in the library and decided to study?"

Peter turned his gaze away and blushed, "Actually…er…yeah, I was kind of studying in the library. I couldn't afford to fail Potions class, and I figured that all of you would tell me what happened later on anyway."

Remus raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. He didn't want to be suspicious of one of his closest friends. After all, in a couple of days, they will be leaving Hogwarts as a graduating class.

"James!" Lily said, joyfully, "Come on! You'll miss the Hogwarts Express!"

The Head Boy ran to his friends, careful not to drop his invisible cloak. As he got on, the train pulled away from Hogwarts. Sirius grinned. "Jamsie got on the train on time. I was afraid you were going to miss it and would have to Apparate to your house."

James frowned. "You know I can't Apparate."

"Oh, forget it guys," Sarah said, "Let's enjoy the ride while it still lasts. You never know what's in it for us in the future."

"Hey, just what are we going to do with our share of the prize?" Sirius wondered aloud.

The two best friends eyed each other with a mischievous air around them. Melanie laughed. "You could always treat us into traveling the world before we settle in on our careers."

Peter laughed, "Why, Mel? You've got enough money to do that yourself!"

"Yeah, why not?" Remus asked them, a sudden gleam in his eyes, "Why shouldn't we have one last fling before entering the wizarding working world?"

Sirius patted his friend's shoulder, "That's what James and I would say, right Prongs my boy?"

"I'm with you on that, Padfoot my friend."

Lily was ecstatic, "You mean you're actually going to do that?"

The three Quidditch members opened up the bag with their combined prize from the Quidditch tournament. Galleons jingled in the bag, and Sarah whistled, "What else are we going to do with it? Come on, what do you say, Lil?"

"Count me in!"

Melanie shook her head, "Of course we'd go! An opportunity like this should never be passed up! And, I could help with the actual traveling expenses."

Peter smiled, nodding his head. Indeed, it was an opportunity to be taken in and used. The Mauraders talked excitedly about their new adventure, as the Hogwarts express moved along the path from the school of witchcraft and wizardry back to England, where many proud parents are bound to meet their children. The many seventh years of that year will miss riding towards Hogwarts, but most of them could not foresee the unseen forces at work, which will eventually bring them back to the school they loved.


	12. Epilogue

For Remus Lupin, as we all know, his life will bring him back to Hogwarts as a teacher, trusted by Dumbledore. As for Lily and James, a terrible fate awaits them, to leave their beloved son behind, a memento of hope against dark times lying in the future. We know the fate of Peter Pettigrew, once a great friend, now a turncoat to the side of evil. Poor Sirius Black was, of course, accused and convicted of a crime he did not commit. His sad future lay in Azkaban, and into hiding, once he has escaped. The lives of these Marauders did not slide easily into a happy ending, but they were lucky enough to find their happiness for at least a few years in Hogwarts and out of it.

What happened to Sarah and Melanie, you ask? For Sarah Morran, she became the Irish Quidditch player, famous as a Chaser in Ireland. Her team was well renowned for their skill in scoring points more than the average Quidditch team, which leads them to victory even when the Snitch was caught by the opposing team. Melanie Belle took up in her father's footsteps and became an Auror, more specifically working in the department of the Unspeakables. These two women were changed forever as well as those whose lives were touched by Voldemort. As for years to come…it is only a mystery…


End file.
